Is it really a done deal?
Iraqi Lawmakers OK Last-Minute Amendments
Oct 12, 2:59 PM (ET)
By THOMAS WAGNER
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Parliament on Wednesday approved a set of last-minute amendments to Iraq's draft constitution, sealing a compromise aimed at gaining Sunni support in this weekend's crucial referendum, the parliament speaker said.
The deal - which greatly increases the chances the constitution will be passed in Saturday's vote - came as insurgents pressed their campaign to wreck the referendum. A suicide bomber killed 30 Iraqis at an army recruitment center in a northern town where another bomber had struck just a day earlier.
Iraq's top leaders, including the Kurdish president, Sunni Arab vice-president, and Shiite prime minister, lined up on stage before the gathered lawmakers in parliament, lauding the deal as a show of unity between the country's often divided factions and communities.
The hour-long session, attended by 157 of parliament's 275 members - ended without the lawmakers voting on the amendments, but Parliament Speaker Hajim al-Hassani said no actual vote was necessary and that the compromise was approved.
"Today with the presence of the National Assembly members, it is considered to be adopted," he told The Associated Press.
The deal had already been accepted by the main parties in parliament after it was reached Tuesday night after three days of marathon negotiations, shepherded by U.S. officials who are eager to see the constitution pass. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad attended Wednesday's parliament session.
The constitution's sucess is key to political progress in Iraq as it is torn by the relentless insurgency - and to prospects for the U.S. military to start pulling out troops next year.
At least one Sunni party has said it will now support the constitution Saturday, though others have rejected the deal and say they will continue their "no" campaign.
The compromise involves amendments or additions to nine articles in the draft constitution.
The central change gives Sunnis the opportunity - once the constitution is passed and a new parliament is elected in December - to try to make major changes to the charter.
Sunnis are hoping to have a larger representation in the next parliament and want to try to water down the autonomous powers that Shiite and Kurdish regions will hold under the constitution's federal system. But the current additions give no guarantee that the Sunnis will be able to push through the changes in the future - only that they'll have the chance to try.
Another significant amendment assures Sunni Arabs that they will not be purged in Iraq's De-Baathification program simply for belonging to Saddam's ousted Baath Party.
But others are more superficial, tweaking words to assure the preservation of Iraq's Arab identity and unity, a concern of the Sunni Arab minority, which fears Iranian influence among the country's Shiite majority and sucessionist tendencies among the non-Arab Kurds.
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