Sunnis Call for New Elections

from Reuters:

Sunni Arabs opposed to an Iraqi draft constitution that is expected to win parliament’s approval on Thursday insist new elections should be held because of disputes over the document, a Sunni in the drafting panel said. Hussein al-Falluji said Sunnis would take the case to an Iraqi court if the document is passed by parliament. He argues that a three-day grace period after the Aug. 22 deadline was a violation of interim constitution regulations that state the constitution should be written by a target date.

“The draft is illegal and it is a violation of the interim constitution,” Falluji, one of 15 Arab Sunnis on the 71-member committee, told Reuters.

“We will take this to a federal court if the constitution passes through parliament, which by law should be dissolved since the deadline was not met.”

Taking the issue to any court could be difficult in the bloody chaos of Iraq, where the Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders who essentially drafted the constitution hope it will lure Sunnis waging an insurgency into peaceful politics. After weeks of wrangling that forced them to extend an earlier target date to Aug. 22, Iraqi leaders presented a draft constitution to parliament on Monday that was fiercely rejected by Sunnis, who predicted more violence and street revolts.

I don’t understand this. The constitution must be approved by a referendum in October. If they don’t like it, the Sunnis can easily block it then:

If the constitution is approved by parliament, it will be put to a referendum in mid-October. Then new elections will be held by mid- December under the charter. But under the rules of the referendum, if two-thirds of the voters in any three regions vote against it, then the constitution can not be ratified. Sunnis hold such a majority in four regions. If the referendum ends in defeat, parliament will be dissolved.

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