Iraq constitution not yet finalized, printing delayed News
Iraq constitution not yet finalized, printing delayed

[JURIST] Both Iraqi and UN officials said Sunday that they were unsure when a final draft of the Iraqi constitution [English translation; JURIST news archive] would be printed as last-minute negotiations over revisions dragged on. With only 5 weeks remaining before the October 15 referendum [JURIST report] on the draft and five million copies of the document still to be distributed, a UN official in charge of the printing said it was unclear when the constitutional drafting committee [official website] would finish its talks and said the UN wants the draft as soon as possible. Saad Qandeel, a Shiite negotiator, said that negotiations on several points would continue for several days yet and that "If we fail to reach an agreement by the end of the week then they will print the present version of the draft unchanged." The issues being negotiated include the wording of a section expressing the Arab identity of Iraq, control of water resources, and Kurdish demands to be guaranteed deputy prime minister posts. Qandeel said that the National Assembly did not discuss the draft in its Sunday session, as had been expected [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.