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Iraq's National Assembly delayed its vote on the
draft constitution submitted Monday, missing a
self-imposed three-day deadline by which negotiators
had hoped to bridge major disagreements pitting
Sunni Arabs against Kurds and Shiite Arabs.
The government yesterday announced that no deal had
been reached on several key issues and that talks
would continue.
"It's now between the Shiite and Sunni Arabs to
agree, and they need more time," said Mahmoud
Othman, a Kurdish negotiator. He said the committee
in charge of drafting the document had presented it
to the National Assembly by Monday's deadline to
avoid forcing the dissolution of the government, and
legally "nothing binds us to the three-day deadline
for a vote, we can go on talking."
Lawmakers now face two options: move forward without
the Sunnis, or continue the wrangling to appease
Sunni concerns of being marginalized. A political
order that lacks Sunni endorsement risks opening the
door to further violence. On the other hand,
dragging out talks will heighten concerns that
Iraqis are too deeply divided in their visions for a
new Iraq.
Negotiations remain stalemated over three points in
the proposed constitution: establishment of a system
that would allow the creation of semi-autonomous
regional governments; the formal inclusion of a de-Baathification
policy that would disenfranchise those who worked
with Saddam Hussein's regime; and the scope of power
held by elected officials.
Some Sunni negotiators dispute the legality of the
extended deadline and called for the National
Assembly to dissolve. Hussein Al-Faluji, an
independent Sunni member of the constitutional
committee, says, "There is no agreement and I don't
know if there will be on the issue of federalism."
In extending the talks, the Iraqi government also is
trying to pacify the abrupt increase in violence
that has broken out in the past few days.
The transitional law governing the country says the
constitution needs to be ratified by parliament
before facing an Oct. 15 referendum. Many Sunni
political parties and senior clerics have said if
their community's demands aren't met, they will
encourage constituents to vote against the draft. If
two-thirds of any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote
"no," a new parliament must be elected to draft a
new charter.
http://www.wsj.com/
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