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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - With a midnight deadline
just hours away, Iraq's disparate political factions
met in search of compromise Monday on the issues
holding up a draft constitution -- federalism, the
distribution of oil wealth and the role of religion
in the new Iraq.
The initial Aug. 15 deadline was pushed back a week
after no agreement was reached. Iraqi officials have
insisted they would meet this second deadline and
present a final document to the National Assembly,
which is dominated by Shiites and Kurds.
Negotiators for all three communities -- Shiites,
Kurds and Sunni Arabs -- met in Baghdad's fortified
Green Zone for a new round of talks Monday. Shiite
politician Khaled al-Attiyah said the political
leaders ''have tentatively agreed that the National
Assembly would meet'' Monday evening.
Parliament will either receive the draft of the new
charter or vote on setting a new deadline. If it
doesn't agree on either, the legislature will have
to dissolve.
Issues holding up agreement on the pact include
federalism, the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth,
power sharing questions among the provinces and the
role of the Shiite clerical hierarchy.
''I am not optimistic,'' Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni
negotiator, said Sunday.
But Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, said
97 percent of the draft had been completed and he
predicted the document would be forwarded to
parliament on time.
Government spokesman Laith Kubba said there were two
options if political leaders fail to complete the
draft: amend the interim constitution again and
extend the deadline or dissolve parliament.
On Sunday, Sunni representatives on the drafting
committee appealed to the United States and United
Nations to prevent Shiites and Kurds from pushing a
draft through parliament without their consent,
warning it would only worsen the crisis in Iraq.
They said they were sticking by their opposition to
federalism and other demands.
A Sunni backlash could complicate the U.S. strategy
of using the political process to lure members of
the minority away from the Sunni-dominated
insurgency. Washington hopes that a constitution,
followed by general elections in December, will
enable the United States and its international
partners to begin removing troops next year.
Shiites and Kurds have enough seats in parliament to
win approval for a draft without the Sunni Arabs.
But the Sunni minority could scuttle the
constitution when voters decide whether to ratify it
in the Oct. 15 referendum. Under current rules, the
constitution would be defeated if it is opposed by
two-thirds of the voters in three of Iraq's 18
provinces. Sunni Arabs form the majority in at least
four.
AP
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