Iraqi Sunni Arabs have appealed to the United States and United Nations to prevent Shias and Kurds from pushing a draft constitution through parliament.
Iraqi women shout slogans during a demonstration near the Baghdad convention centre where Iraqi lawmakers are meeting to draw up the new constitution. Hundreds of Baghdad residents staged a demonstration in Baghdad to protest against their housing problems.
Leaders of the Sunni Arab, Shia and Kurdish factions planned final talks this morning according to officials of all three groups.
"I am not optimistic," Kamal Hamdoun, a negotiator for the influential Sunni minority, said yesterday. "We either reach unanimity or not."
The initial August 15th deadline was pushed to today after no agreement was reached, and Iraqi officials have insisted they would meet the new deadline and present a final document to the National Assembly, dominated by Shias and Kurds. But the chief government spokesman suggested another delay may be necessary.
Issues holding up agreement on the draft include federalism, distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, power sharing questions among the provinces and the role of the clerical hierarchy.
Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a Shia, said 97 per cent of the draft had been finished and predicted the document would be forwarded to parliament on time today.
A government spokesman said there were two options if political leaders fail to complete the draft - amend the interim constitution again and extend the deadline, or dissolve parliament.
But the Sunni Arabs complained that they have been invited to only one session with the other groups since the extension was granted. As of late yesterday, Sunni Arab negotiators said they were sticking by their opposition to federalism and other demands.
A Sunni Arab backlash could complicate the US strategy of using the political process to lure members of the minority away from the Sunni-dominated insurgency.
Washington hopes that a constitution, followed by general elections in December, will enable the US and its international partners to begin removing troops next year.
AP