Shiites Prepared to Submit Charter Without Sunni Approval

Iraqi Shiites Vow To Submit Charter
By Jonathan Finer and Omar Fekeiki
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sat Aug 27, 1:00 AM ET

BAGHDAD, Aug. 27 -- As another midnight deadline to complete a draft constitution passed Friday without definitive agreement among Iraq's main factions, ruling Shiite Muslim parties said they would present a final version to the National Assembly this weekend with no further changes, even though it was rejected by several Sunni Arab leaders.

As some lawmakers said negotiations were continuing into the early hours of Saturday and others claimed an accord had been reached that many Sunnis would endorse, government spokesman Laith Kubba told al-Arabiya television that "consensus is almost impossible at this point."

"The draft should be put before the people," he said, referring to the nationwide referendum on the document that must be held by Oct. 15. Many Sunni Arab leaders have urged their followers to vote against the constitution, which can be rejected if two-thirds of the voters in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces oppose it.

The completed document will be presented to the National Assembly on Saturday or Sunday with or without Sunni backing, Humam Hamoudi, a Shiite who is chairman of the constitution-writing committee, told the Associated Press.

I guess we'll see how things are going to break here. Maybe the Sunni people will ignore their leaders and vote for the constitution (well, we conservatives do tend to be optimists).

Full Story: Shiites to Submit Charter

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