Deadline Schmedline
by TChris
Up against (and a bit beyond) another extended deadline, the Iraqi National Assembly is unlikely to vote on a draft constitution. The newly improvised plan: skip the vote and send the draft to the people in a referendum.
The decision by the Shiite leadership to bypass the Sunni Arabs provoked threats from the Sunnis that they would call on their people to reject the constitution when it goes before the voters in October.
This isn't the plan the Bush administration has been hawking.
Barring some last-minute deal, the decision by the Shiites to move ahead without the Sunni Arabs would mark a huge blow to efforts by the Bush administration to bring the leaders of the Sunni community into the negotiations over the Iraqi constitution.
What happened to the "do-over" plan?
Under the rules that were agreed to last year, the National Assembly is obliged to dissolve itself and hold new elections if it is unable to reach agreement on the interim constitution.
It was always a little fuzzy whether the Aug. 15 date set by the interim constitution could be extended. The extensions haven't produced an agreement, and it's even fuzzier whether the National Assembly can remain in power in its absence. Not to worry, says speaker Hajim al-Hassani.
Al-Hassani agreed that no parliamentary vote was required since the assembly fulfilled its legal obligations by accepting the Shiite and Kurdish-approved draft on Monday. "If we will not be able to reach agreements in the end, this constitution is going to be presented to the Iraqis in an Oct. 15 referendum," al-Hassani said. "Legally we do not need the parliament to vote on the draft, but we need only a consensus so that all the Iraqis will say yes to the constitution."
All Iraqis will say yes only if Diebold provides the voting machines.
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