Iraqi constitution meeting delayed
The Iraqi parliament session on whether to sign off on the new constitution was postponed today for two hours, Shiite member Mohammed Baqir al-Bahadli said.
The National Assembly had been scheduled to convene at 6pm (3pm Irish time) to consider the draft but moments ahead of the time, there was no sign of any members. Al-Bahadli said members had been advised that the new starting time was 8pm.
Kurdish parliament member Mahmoud Othman said meetings were still underway on the outstanding issues and so far ”no final agreements have been reached".
A few minutes before the original starting time, Tariq al-Hashimi, the general secretary of Iraq’s biggest Sunni political group, the Iraqi Islamic party, told Al-Jazeera television that the disagreements were broader than simply between Sunnis and the others.
Instead, he said there still “points of disagreement” among Shiites and Kurds and that it might be better to delay a decision.
Al-Hashimi said his party did not believe in the “sanctity” of the interim constitution which mandated today as the deadline for the constitution to be approved by parliament.
| Related Stories: |
|
