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Full
participation in the referendum seen as the best way
to vote down a document many Sunnis object to.
With most of their concerns ignored in the finalised
version of the Iraqi constitution, the Sunnis who
sat on the committee that drafted it are now
focusing on the October referendum to get it
rejected.
Religious and political leaders representing the
Sunni community have joined the debate, displaying
an engagement in the political process that stands
in stark contrast to their declared boycott of the
election last January.
The constitution, which was largely written by the
Shias and Kurds on the drafting committee, was given
preliminary approval by parliament, the National
Assembly, on August 28, and only minor alterations
were made before the definitive version was approved
on September 18.
As the final changes were being discussed, Sunni
members of the National Assembly and the
constitutional committee continued to oppose parts
of the document that concerned federalism, the de-Baathification
process, the distribution of revenues from natural
resources, and whether Iraq’s identity is Arabic or
multi-ethnic.
The lack of consensus led to hours of heated debate
and three postponements to submitting the final
document to parliament. But just as when the first
draft was produced last month, the Sunni objections
were overruled and the constitution was passed,
clearing the way for the referendum in which Iraqis
will decide whether it should come into force.
"We tried so hard to get the articles that concern
federalism and the identity of Iraq postponed for
the next elected assembly to deal with, but others
insisted on [keeping them in] and the support of
political blocs played an important role in passing
[the constitution]," said Sheikh Nasir Abdul-Karim,
a Sunni who was part of the constitutional
committee.
The constitution will be rejected if two-thirds of
the voters in three of Iraq’s 18 governorates vote
against it.
“We will have our say in the vote,” warned
Abdul-Karim.
As well as the vexed issue of creating federal
regions, which Kurds and some Shia want and Sunnis
oppose, another controversial point in the
constitution is the wording that cites Islam as “a
source” of legislation, in other words implying that
future laws will be drafted taking into account
Sharia but also other, secular legal traditions.
Religious Sunnis and also Shia had wanted a stronger
wording to make Islamic law the principal foundation
of legislation.
“We reject any constitution that doesn’t depend upon
Islam as the main source [of legislation],” said
Sheikh Said al-Fayadh, a cleric.
Al-Fayadh, like many Sunni politicians and clerical
figures, is demanding that the finished constitution
should be published and distributed so that the
public has as much time as possible to read it
carefully.
In a complete departure from their calls for an
election boycott in January, clerical leaders are
urging their congregations to read the draft and
vote in the referendum. Many are using Friday
prayers to discuss the main objections to the
constitution as it now stands.
"Sunni Arabs should not repeat the mistake of
boycotting elections,” said Sheikh Saad Abdul-Jalil,
the imam or prayer leader at the al-Ghaffar mosque
in Baghdad. “I call on all Iraqis to vote and [also]
to participate in the subsequent [parliamentary]
election.”
Security measures for the referendum are a key
concern for politicians determined to seek maximum
turnout. In the January election, it was clear that
– apart from the declared boycott – many Sunni Arabs
in areas like Anbar governorate were too afraid to
vote because of the risk they would be targeted by
insurgents.
Ala Maki, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party who
sat on the drafting committee, warns that the
government will need to ensure that people in Iraq’s
less stable areas are able to take part.
“We hope the Iraqi government will display wisdom
and calm in its approach to the turbulent areas that
did not participate in the January election, since
this will have an obvious impact on the legitimacy
of any decision made by Iraqis, and particularly the
constitution," he said.
Like Abdul-Karim, Maki said he wanted to see the
issue of federalism taken out of the constitution
and instead placed before the new, permanent
National Assembly that will be elected once the
referendum is over.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Samarai, a member of the influential
Association of Muslim Scholars accuses certain
political groups - which he would not name but are
clearly non-Sunni - of making too much fuss about
retaining the most controversial articles.
“If the constitution includes guarantees for all
Iraqi communities, and if it ensures that there will
be no return to dictatorship and that revenues will
be distributed to all provinces according to their
population, then why cling doggedly to those
points?” he asked.
Some Shia leaders continue to do what they can to
allay Sunni concerns.
Abbas al-Bayati, a member of the dominant, Shia-led
United Iraqi Alliance in the National Assembly who
was also a member of the drafting committee, said
the most important thing was that the constitution
had been finished at all – this was itself a “huge
step for Iraq”.
Sidestepping the desire of Sunnis to use the
referendum to stop the constitution in its tracks,
al-Bayati said the future National Assembly would
have powers to change any sections of it that
currently raised objections.
“The articles not endorsed by Sunni members can be
amended or changed in the future after the coming
elections,” he said.
"What is important is participation [in the
referendum] and defeating the powers of darkness
that are trying to drive us backwards.”
Zaineb Naji and Daud Salman are IWPR trainees in
Baghdad.
www.iwpr.net
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