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Iraqi PM: Most Constitutional Issues Resolved
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=EB487A:3919ACA

Ibrahim al-Jaafari tells reporters in Baghdad that negotiators have
agreed on 151 of 153 articles of charter





Ibrahim al-Jaafari

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari says almost all key
issues delaying a draft constitution have been resolved.

Mr. Jaafari spoke Tuesday in Baghdad as negotiators scrambled to reach
agreement on key points left unresolved in the draft presented to
parliament late Monday. Lawmakers have extended the deadline for
parliamentary approval to Thursday.

Officials say issues of federalism and the division of authority
between the presidency and parliament remain unresolved.

Majority Shi'ites and the Kurds are seeking a decentralized government
that allows significant regional autonomy in the Kurdish north and
Shi'ite southern Iraq.

Sunnis, who have not signed off on the draft, want a centralized
government seen as protecting their minority interests in central
Iraq.

Meanwhile, authorities say Iraq's Environment Minister Narmin Othman
survived an assassination attempt Monday, when gunmen attacked her
convoy north of Baghdad. Three bodyguards were wounded.

A U.S. soldier was killed during a rocket attack in Baghdad.

 


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