Iraqi politicians said Saturday that new talks were taking place on the text of the draft constitution, following widespread calls for unity after the deadly stampede which killed nearly 1,000 Shiite pilgrims. Bridging deep divisions between Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish representatives over the proposed charter could help assuage rising sectarian tensions in the country, as grieving Shiites continued to mourn relatives lost in the tragedy. (Japan Today)

Charles Krauthammer: A sensible Iraqi constitution. I've never been a big fan of the Iraqi constitution project. Issues such as federalism and the role of Islam are simply too large and fundamental to be decided this early in Iraq's democratic evolution. It is more appropriately the work of years as Iraqis learn accommodation and tolerance and the other habits of self-government. I wrote two months ago that forcing a resolution of Iraq's cosmic dilemmas by some arbitrary date could serve only to exacerbate existing divisions. This has indeed happened. Nonetheless, the Iraqi constitution project is a fact. It has produced a document. It goes to referendum on Oct. 15. And all the lamentations and rending of garments over the text are highly overblown. [...] (Washington Post)

A week after the draft constitution was declared final, discreet talks were under way to refine language in a bid to win Sunni approval and ease fears of Iraq's Arab neighbors that the charter will loosen the country's ties to the Arab world, officials said Friday. As negotiators discussed possible changes, thousands of Shiite supporters and Sunni opponents of the document took to the streets Friday to express their views ahead of the decisive Oct. 15 referendum. [..] (AP)

Power Line: Haider Ajina sends us these poll results, which he has translated from today's edition of the Iraqi newspaper Alhayat: A poll taken by “The Iraqi center for national development & dialog”, which is headed by former Planning minister Mahdi Alhafith. Reveals 88% of Iraqis polled said they will participate in the next vote (for the constitution) on the 15th of October. 5% said they will not vote 6% had not decided yet. [...]

IRAQI president Jalal Talabani has said Iraq's draft constitution is ready to be put to the vote in an October 15 referendum, ending weeks of tortuous negotiations. "The draft constitution is ready and will be presented to the Iraqi people, who are known for their intelligence, to give their verdict on October 15," Mr Talabani said at a ceremony overnight to mark the end of the drafting process. "There are objections from our Sunni Arab brothers ... but nobody can claim that they represent the whole spectrum of Sunni Arabs," said the president, who is a Kurd. He said the draft, when approved by the people, would become the "fundamental law" of the nation. "If the nation rejects it, we will write another one," said Mr Talabani. Iraq's parliament held a special session on the draft constitution but did not vote on it. (Daily Telegraph [UK])

Backgrounder: Twists and turns in making Iraq's constitution. A draft constitution of Iraq was signed by an overwhelming majority of the panel on Sunday. Here is a brief account of the twists and turns experienced in the making of the permanent constitution. [...] (XINHUA online)

Blogger Publius: It all comes down to federalism.

CNN: Iraq's three major groups -- Kurds, Shiite Arabs and Sunni Arabs -- continue to debate the proposed constitution, striving to win over critics by Sunday. But consensus has remained elusive since August 15, when legislators missed their first deadline to submit to the transitional national assembly a draft of laws to govern Iraq's new democracy. [...] Although one Sunni Arab official said he disliked the plan, the Sunnis continued to huddle over the suggestions. [...]

Blogger: Omar at Iraq The Model blogs about the Iraqi constitution.

Iraqi leaders have reached a deal in principle on a draft constitution, parliament's speaker said on Saturday, but no accord was clinched yet and a final decision would be clear only on Sunday. One Shi'ite faction in the government called it a historic day, but delegates from Iraq's Sunni minority could not be reached for comment and had been making deeply pessimistic statements hours before on the chances of an accord. Speaker Hajim al-Hassani said negotiators from the Shi'ite majority had proposed amendments to an existing draft to meet the demands of Sunni Arabs. (AP)

The speaker of Iraq's parliament announced a one-day extension early Friday in talks on the new constitution — a fourth attempt to win Sunni Arab approval. But he said that if no agreement is reached, the document would bypass parliament and be decided in an Oct. 15 referendum. Shiite leaders signaled they had lost patience with protracted negotiating and wanted to refer the draft approved by them and the Kurds last Monday to the electorate. With repeated missed deadlines and no sign of compromise, a process designed to bring the country's disparate ethnic, cultural and religious groups closer together appeared instead to be pushing them further apart. (AP)

Iraqi politicians tried to reach compromises with Sunni Arab leaders today on the country’s draft constitution. [...] Talks on the draft constitution resumed today as five Sunni Arabs on the drafting committee met with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and discussed points of disagreement such as federalism, according to a statement released by al-Jaafari’s office. The Sunnis gave al-Jaafari a list of unresolved issues, the statement added. Before the meeting one Sunni said he was confident that leaders could finish the document by the new deadline, but warned that serious issues needed to be addressed. “I expect that the constitution would be finished before Monday. Negotiations are still underway and everybody are determined to finish it before the deadline,” said Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni member of the constitutional committee. However, al-Mutlaq warned that serious differences remain. “I believe that there are some groups that have taken more than they deserve and want to pass the constitution quickly,” he said. “In order for this constitution to work, these groups that have taken more than what they deserve must abandon some of their demands.” (Ireland On-Line)

Iraqi politicians agreed Monday on a draft constitution but decided to put off two key issues - women's rights and whether Kurds might someday secede - so the document could be submitted to parliament by a midnight deadline, two Shiite officials said. (AP)