BAGHDAD, 31 March 2005 — The chaotic breakdown of a key Iraqi Parliament meeting raised fears yesterday of a delay in drawing up a permanent constitution because of the failure of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to agree on a government. Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups were huddled in meetings as they attempted to resuscitate a political process that has become deadlocked two months after the country’s first free elections in 50 years.
“There is concern about whether we have enough time to complete the constitution. We’ll have to work harder on this,” Saad Jawad, a Shiite member of the 275-seat Parliament, told AFP. With Parliament mired by infighting and turf wars over Cabinet posts, questions abounded whether the country’s volatile communal mix could strike a balance on a permanent legal charter by mid-August, the deadline set in the interim constitution (TAL).
“There are certain groups that want to see the TAL as the basis of the new constitution. If that is agreed upon it will make our job much easier to finish it by August. But probably we’ll see some big differences,” said Sunni MP Hajem Al-Hassani. He feared key national identity issues that could barely be settled now would rear their head again over the spring and summer. “State and religion will definitely come up again, federalism will come up again, some of the touchy issues will crop up. Personally I think we’ll see an extension.”
The TAL calls for the permanent constitution to be completed by mid-August and put to a national referendum in October, but allows an extra half-year for drafting the document if the sides cannot reach agreement. Despite MPs being eager to present a united face to the public, Tuesday’s Parliament session ended instead in catcalls and bitter divisions over the failure to choose a parliament speaker.
As prominent figures including Prime Minister Iyad Allawi bolted from the proceedings and the media were ejected, Parliament adjourned the session — only the second since the Jan. 30 election — until Sunday.
The circus-like debacle brought to the surface the power struggle among the Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis that has dragged on in closed-door negotiations since the watershed election that saw millions vote despite security fears.
