THIS STILL ASSUMES APPOINTING AN OPERATING GOVERNMENT--PRESUMABLY THE PUPPETS NOW IN PLACE
Iraq Council Approves Interim Constitution Recognizing Islam
March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Iraqi Governing Council today approved an interim constitution that recognizes the influence of Islam on the country and sets a quota for the inclusion of female representatives in a future government, an official from the U.S.- led Coalition Provisional Authority said.
The 25-member council reached a consensus on the document at about 4:20 a.m. Iraq time, said the official, who spoke by telephone from Baghdad on condition of anonymity. The leaders missed a Saturday deadline for agreement on the constitution after wrangling over the extent to which Islam should influence Iraqi lawmaking, the number of women who should be legislators, and Kurdish demands for autonomy in the country's north.
There was ``full agreement'' on ``each article'' of the constitution, the Associated Press cited Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman for Shiite Muslim council member Ahmad Chalabi, as saying.
Council members said they had reached a compromise on the role of Islam in Iraq's governance by recognizing the religion's prominence while specifying that it would be only one factor in determining laws, according to the coalition official. The leaders said Islam wouldn't be used to curtail freedom for followers of other faiths, freedom of speech or other elements of a democracy.
Addendum
The constitution will be followed within several weeks by an addendum setting out how non-direct elections of an interim representative government will be run after the coalition hands over power on June 30, the official said. That body would be elected by the end of 2004, or no later than Jan. 31, and would write an election law in preparation for direct balloting, the official said. Women will make up a quarter of the government.
Details weren't immediately available on how the non-direct election would be held. The U.S. had pressed for the selection of representatives at regional caucuses.
The council didn't say when direct elections should be held. Consultations will continue between Iraqi leaders and a United Nations team sent to Iraq to determine the feasibility of direct elections, the official said.
The top Shiite Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, last week called for a UN resolution setting a date for direct elections by the end of the year. Sistani previously demanded direct balloting before June 30. The UN team told Secretary General Kofi Annan that the June 30 handover date was unrealistic, and that it would take eight months to organize nationwide balloting.
The council postponed a decision on Kurdish autonomy after failing to reach agreement on the terms and size of a region ruled by Kurds in the north, AP reported.
A document signing ceremony will be delayed until Wednesday, in recognition of a Shiite Muslim holiday, the coalition official said. The day, Ashura, is when Shiites mark the death in battle of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
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