Iraq’s Parliament extended a deadline for a new Constitution on Monday night after marathon talks failed to bridge differences between the main ethnic and sectarian groups.
Deputies amended the existing interim Constitution to give negotiators another week to try to reach agreement on the future of the Iraqi state.
The country’s leaders have until August 22 to break a deadlock over federalism, the role of Islam and women’s rights.
As the midnight deadline approached, negotiators said a deal was imminent but it failed to materialise, torpedoing Washington’s timetable for a new Constitution.
A day of political drama ended at 11.23pm when Parliament was hastily assembled to buy more time with a show of hands. The vote averted a Constitutional crisis but exposed the deep divisions between Kurds, Shias and Arab Sunnis.
Participants masked their disappointment. ”Come on, this is a success,” said Barham Saleh, a Kurdish minister in the interim coalition government. ”We’re not killing each other.”
President Jalal Talabani said he was keen to have an early Constitution but even keener to have a good one that included all the main groups. ”This delay will not shake the confidence of the Iraqi people, which stands behind its Parliament.”
It will annoy US diplomats who lobbied hard to keep to the timetable. The ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, appeared surprised by the extension and left Baghdad’s convention centre without speaking to reporters.
Nonetheless, United States President George Bush said on Monday night: ”I applaud the heroic efforts of Iraqi negotiators and appreciate their work to resolve remaining issues through continued negotiation and dialogue. Their efforts are a tribute to democracy and an example that difficult problems can be solved peacefully through debate, negotiation and compromise.”
Two explosions in central Baghdad, followed by sirens, were audible inside the green zone, the capital’s fortified complex.
Parliament’s speaker, Hashim al-Hassani, said agreement had been reached on many topics. ”Some matters are still pending. Despite all efforts, we have not been able to reach agreements that please everyone.”
Sunni Arab representatives refused to drop objections to a federal state granting autonomy to Kurds in the north and Shias in the south. ”It’s impossible to reach a deal in a few hours,” said Abdel Nasser al-Janabi, a top Sunni negotiator.
Under the transitional administrative law (TAL), an interim Constitution sponsored by US occupation forces 18 months ago, Parliament was supposed to dissolve and call fresh elections if a deal was not reached by midnight.
The legality of amending the TAL was dubious but with neither side wanting elections there were no objections.
Members of the ruling Shia and Kurdish coalition had said that if Sunnis did not accept their offer of diluted federalism they might present their own version of the Constitution to Parliament, shattering any pretence at consensus and further alienating a minority whose disaffection drives the insurgency.
But Sunnis said they would rejected a Constitution that envisaged a weak federal government with Sunnis bereft of mineral wealth.
The other main obstacle to a deal was the role of Islam. Conservative Shias who wanted sharia to be a major source of legislation clashed with liberals and secular groups seeking safeguards. – Guardian Unlimited Â