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The
United Nations has refused to start printing Iraq's
draft constitution, yet again delaying efforts to
get millions of copies to voters before a referendum
on October 15.
One negotiator from the Sunni Arab minority which
has been lobbying for changes to the text adopted by
parliament on August 28, said non-Arab Kurdish
leaders agreed to an amendment to the draft to
strengthen wording on Iraq's nature as an Arab
state.
Others involved were not available for comment.
"We haven't been given authority to print it," said
Nicholas Haysom, a UN official in Baghdad, adding
that he could not say whether the existing draft had
been amended.
"From our perspective, and we are helping in
printing and distribution, we are awaiting a text
certified by the National Assembly. We don't expect
that to happen before Sunday."
Iraqi parliamentary officials had said earlier in
the week that printing would start after last-minute
efforts to fine-tune wording to appease Sunni
leaders had failed.
Mr Haysom could not say whether the difficulty with
the text as it stood was that parliament had failed
to approve the text properly last week or whether
that text had changed.
Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Mutlak said that in talks
with Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani,
other Sunni leaders had persuaded the non-Arab Kurds
to amend the wording of the draft referring to
Iraq's Arab nature.
It had said Iraq's Arabs were part of the Arab
nation. He said it now read "Iraq is a founding and
an active member of the Arab League".
But Mr Mutlak said the text still did not meet with
approval from the once dominant Sunni minority,
which has voiced concerns about devolving power to
Kurds and majority Shiites in northern and southern
provinces.
"We will start a campaign to vote 'No' in the
referendum," he said. If two thirds of voters in
three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject the constitution
it will be vetoed and an election in December will
choose a new interim parliament to draft a new text.
Earlier, the Independent Electoral Commission said
the date of the referendum had now been fixed for
October 15, the latest date possible under the
interim constitution.
With little over a month for the electorate to
digest the charter, Mr Haysom said starting printing
was a priority to ensure that voters were fully
informed.
The next scheduled sitting of the National Assembly
is on Sunday.
AAP
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