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Voting on constitution delayed again because of
disputes on issues ranging from federalism to de-Baathification.
Leading Sunni politicians warned there would be
widespread demonstrations if the National Assembly
approves a constitution that Sunnis have rejected.
A draft of the constitution was submitted to
parliament just before a midnight deadline on August
22, but voting on the document was delayed for
another three days to try to resolve remaining
disagreements.
"If the constitution is passed there will be
uprisings in the streets," said Salih al-Mutlak, one
of the main Sunni negotiators on the parliamentary
constitution committee.
Federalism is still the most contentious issue as
Sunnis agree to the autonomy already established in
Iraqi Kurdistan but reject any expansion of
federalism, including more independence for the Shia
south. They say federalism will divide Iraq along
sectarian lines and strongly reject the concept.
There are also disagreements about the policy of
ridding the government of members of the former
Baath Party; the Arabic identity of Iraq; and the
system of choosing the president, prime minister and
National Assembly speaker, which currently requires
a two-thirds majority.
One issue that was resolved was the role of Islam,
which is named as "a main source of legislation"
instead of "the main source" - wording that some
religious Shias preferred. But the draft
constitution also states that no law can contradict
Islam.
It has been difficult for political leaders and
lawmakers to find consensus on the constitution,
forcing them to delay the original deadline of
August
15 for one week.
Mahmood Othman, a Kurdish member of the constitution
committee, said the Kurds were still in disagreement
with the Shias half an hour before the latest
midnight deadline.
Another Kurdish source close to the negotiations
said the US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad,
played a major role in the negotiations and
encouraged lawmakers to come to an agreement.
Al-Mutlak said they met with their Shia and Kurdish
counterparts only twice during the week before the
August 22 deadline. Because they largely boycotted
the January elections, Sunnis have only 17 members
in the 275-member National Assembly.
As a result, Shia and Kurds have the power to
approve the constitution without Sunni
participation. The document will then be put to a
national referendum on October 15.
Members of the mainly Shia United Iraqi Alliance,
which won the January elections, said they were
ready, with the Kurds, to pass the constitution by
themselves.
"We don't have extra time for Sunnis to realise the
meaning of federalism,"
said Jalaladdin al-Saghir, a United Iraqi Alliance
representative and a member of the constitution
committee. "If they don't want this constitution,
they can reject it by their vote in the referendum."
If a two-thirds majority of voters in three of
Iraq's 18 governorates disapproves of the
constitution, it will fail.
But al-Saghir said they are lobbying groups in Sunni
provinces as well as Shia tribes in Mosul and Kurds
in Salahaddin province to come out to vote in favour
of the document.
Sami al-Majun, a representative of Iraq's tribes,
said his group opposed the removing of provisions
that gave tribes a stronger role in society.
Still, other groups said they also reject the draft
constitution. Hanin Mahmood, a representative of
religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq, said it
does not guarantee their rights.
"We may mobilise the masses to vote against the
constitution," he said.
Dhiya Rasan is an IWPR trainee in Baghdad.
www.iwpr.net
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