BAGHDAD, 1 August 2005 — The team drawing up Iraq’s new constitution considered giving itself more time to write the document yesterday, but still looked set to meet its mid-August deadline under intense US pressure.
The drafting of the constitution is a major plank in the US administration’s plans for democracy in Iraq and is seen as perhaps the best chance for a political end to the insurgency. Violence, however, continued unabated yesterday, with a car bomb killing seven people at a police checkpoint near Baghdad.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, flanked by US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters it was essential that the US-backed timetable for writing the constitution was met and the document presented to Parliament by the deadline of Aug. 15.
Many of the 71 members on the drafting committee say they need more time, while others say the priority is meeting the deadline. The debate has come to a head because any extension must be requested by Aug. 1.
The committee met all day yesterday to consider whether it should ask for more time, but could not reach a decision. Members said they would meet again today.
At the same time, they said committee Chairman Humam Hammoudi would meet Talabani and the speaker of Parliament to discuss the issue. An application for an extension has to be made by Hammoudi to the speaker. Just as there are deep divisions among committee members over what should be in the constitution, there are profound differences of opinion over whether there should be a delay.
According to Iraq’s interim constitution, drawn up last year with the help of US and British diplomats, an extension of six months can be requested. If a delay is granted, it would set back the timetable for Iraq’s transition to democracy, a schedule the United States is very keen for the country’s politicians stick to. During a visit to Baghdad last week, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was insistent about the timetable being met.
The schedule calls for the draft constitution to be written by Aug. 15, put to a referendum by Oct. 15 and elections for a new government to be held under the charter by Dec 15.
While some favor a delay, there is by no means unanimity among committee members. Many Sunni Arabs are staunchly opposed. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the team, said he did not believe a draft would be ready by Aug. 1, as Hammoudi hoped. While he said an extension might be needed, he did not believe one would be requested.
“The Americans want to make a quick constitution,” he said, adding US officials were putting intense pressure on the drafters.
