Iraq Extends Constitution Deadline
Unable to hammer out a final agreement, Iraq's parliament voted unanimously Monday to allow a seven-day extension to finish the draft constitution.
"We have reached agreements on many topics," speaker Hashim al-Hassani told parliament. "Some matters are still pending. Despite all efforts, we have not been able to reach agreements that please everyone."
Two Shitte officials said the two key issues that remained unresolved were women's rights and whether Kurds might someday secede.
"Regrettably we were not able to reach a draft we could all agree on," Kurdish minister Barhem Saleh said. "We agreed to extend the period to discuss the draft for a maximum of 10 days, maybe 7-10 days."
He said the draft will be presented to the National Assembly and that discussions over the constitution would continue. "If we don't reach an agreement, then the National Assembly will be dissolved, and we will call for general elections for a new National Assembly in a maximum period before Oct. 10," he said.
Today was the deadline for finalizing a constitution, but that had been delayed by disagreements between Shiites and Kurds.
In other developments:
The National Assembly had been scheduled to convene at 6 p.m. to consider the draft but moments ahead of the time, members had been advised that the new starting time was 8 p.m.
A few minutes before the original starting time, Tariq al-Hashimi, the general secretary of Iraq's biggest Sunni political group, the Iraqi Islamic party, told Al-Jazeera television that the disagreements were broader than simply between Sunnis and the others.
Instead, he said there still "points of disagreement" among Shiites and Kurds and that it might be better to delay a decision.
Earlier Monday, a Shiite legislator seemed certain the draft constitution would be presented to parliament on time at 6 p.m. regardless of objections by Sunni Arab members of the committee drafting the document.
"I confirm that the constitution will be given at 6 p.m. today to the National Assembly," Hassan al-Sunnaid told state-run Iraqiya television. "After they receive it, it will be read and members will comment on it. Then it will be ready for the referendum after two months."
Al-Sunnaid is a member of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Dawa party. Another Dawa member, Khalid al-Attiyah, said earlier there was a "10 percent chance" parliament might try to amend the interim constitution and postpone the Monday deadline.
There was no confirmation from the leadership of the drafting committee. There was also no comment from Sunni Arab committee members, who have objected to a range of issues including federalism, the role of the Shiite clergy and power relationships between provinces and the central government.
A meeting with leaders from all the main parties, including Sunni Arabs, was planned later in the day, but Shiite leaders again broached the idea of extending the constitutional deadline.
"We hope that an agreement will be reached but if this does not happen we will ask for an extension until Sept. 1, or mid-September," al-Attiyah said, adding that there was a 10 percent chance that a delay would be necessary.
An extension would require approval of two-thirds of parliament and the president and his two deputies. U.S. officials have pressured Iraqis to stick to Monday's deadline.
Sunni Arabs pressed for the divisive issue of federalism to be put off until next year so the draft can be completed on time, warning they would not accept provisions for federated states.
Shiites and Kurds, the two other major groups in the country, are pushing for autonomous regions in the southern and northern parts of Iraq, but Sunnis fear the proposal could split Iraq.
American officials applied pressure to resolve differences on that and other issues before Monday's deadline.
"The Iraqis tell me that they can finish it and they will finish it tomorrow," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Sunday in a televised interview.
Khalilzad said that "a lot of American blood and American treasure has been spent here," a point that he had made "abundantly clear to my Iraqi interlocutors."
The U.S. military said Sunday that five soldiers had been killed in roadside bombings, and at least 11 Iraqis were killed in scattered violence across the country. A grave with 30 bodies was also found Sunday by Iraqi commandos in southern Baghdad.
Some politicians said the draft could be presented to the Shiite- and Kurdish-led parliament Monday over Sunni Arab objections. But that would further alienate that disaffected minority, undercutting the U.S. goal of using the political process to take the steam out of the Sunni-dominated insurgency.
"It looks like all the agreements are being made only by the Kurds and the Shiites without even asking our opinion," Sunni Arab official Saleh al-Mutlaq said Sunday. "I believe the draft is going to be presented tomorrow even if it is not finished, with or without our approval."
Parliament could approve the draft by a simple majority, and the Shiites and Kurds together hold 221 of 275 seats. However, that risks a Sunni backlash that could scuttle the constitution when it is put before voters in an Oct. 15 referendum.
If two-thirds of the voters in at least three of the 18 provinces vote "no," the charter would be defeated and Sunnis form a majority in at least four provinces. Sunni clerics are urging followers to vote against any constitution that could lead to the breakup of the country.