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Iraq’s prime minister announced Wednesday he will seek a popular mandate to change the country’s constitution amid widespread calls to fight corruption and curtail government spending. The announcement came as Islamic State militants ambushed a military convoy in Iraq’s western Anbar province, killing at least 14 soldiers. […] In Baghdad, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he respects the current constitution, implemented in 2005, but believes “it is incomplete.” […] On Tuesday, lawmakers unanimously approved a reform plan proposed by al-Abadi that eliminates the three vice presidencies and the three deputy prime minister posts, dismantling part of the top-heavy government established...

October 25 -- Official tally shows Iraq constitution passes. October 27 -- Weeks of rioting begin in France. Any underlying connection?

Iraqi voters have ratified a new constitution by a margin of nearly 4 to 1, election officials announced Tuesday as complete returns showed that the country's disaffected Sunni Arab minority had narrowly failed to muster enough "no" votes in three provinces to block the charter's adoption. The result, declared 10 days after a nationwide referendum, raised cries of protest from some Sunni leaders, who had claimed that the count was being rigged. But Iraqi election officials and U.N. monitors said a selective recount turned up no significant incidents of fraud. Shiite Muslim and ethnic Kurdish politicians leading Iraq's coalition government...

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 16, 2005 -- The constitution voted on yesterday in Iraq may well constitute an obstacle to securing human rights and individual liberties should it be approved, Freedom House said today. Immediate and comprehensive efforts should be undertaken to ensure that post-referendum amendments and enabling legislation for the constitution address the most problematic provisions. On October 15, Iraqis voted in a national referendum on whether to adopt a constitution that emerged in mid-September after months of negotiation and was expected to be approved. A political agreement reached last week commits Iraq's leaders to consider new amendments to the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (search) was not among the Iraqi detainees who cast ballots Thursday on the proposed Iraqi constitution, as U.S. and Iraqi forces stepped up security across the country to impede insurgent attacks aimed at derailing Saturday's referendum.Non-convicted detainees, including Saddam, whose trial is set to begin Oct. 19, were allowed to cast votes Thursday but the former leader was not among those voting, Judge Nadham Farhan of the Iraqi Special Tribunal told FOX News. The reason for his abstaining was not immediately known.The rest of Iraq was scheduled to vote on Saturday, ...

  Polls Close for Vote on Iraq Constitution Staff and agencies 15 October, 2005 By HAMZA HENDAWI, 21 minutes ago BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq 's deeply divided Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds voted on a new constitution at heavily guarded polling stations Saturday in a referendum largely free of insurgent violence and aimed at establishing democracy after decades of Saddam Hussein 's repressive rule. But in Sunni regions — both in Baghdad and several key heavily Sunni provinces — the surprisingly high turnout seemed to consist largely of Iraqis voting "no" because of fears the charter would set in stone the...

Today (25 September) the NY Times ran an editorial, “The Hard Bigotry of No Expectations.” It excoriates the Bush Administration for two principle “failures,” the bad response to Hurricane Katrina and the defective Iraq Constitution. Instead, the Times demonstrated that its entire staff is incompetent. Regarding Katrina, the Times opines, “Four years after 9/11, Katrina showed the world that performance standards for the Department of Homeland Security were so low that it was not required to create real plans to respond to real disasters.” Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/opinion/25sun1.html The Times has dozens of its reporters and editors working on various aspects of...

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- A public opinion poll conducted by the Iraqi Center for Development and International Dialogue concerning the constitutional process and the next elections showed that 88 percent of polled Iraqis intended to participate in the referendum on the proposed permanent constitution. The poll also showed that 6 percent of them have not decided whether to participate in the referendum or not and 5 percent did not wish to participate. While 30 percent of the sampled Iraqi citizens supported the establishment of a federal system, 84 percent expressed their support for women's rights. In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat,...

The referendum vote on Iraq's draft constitution is slated to take place Oct. 15. Iraqis will be asked to vote "yes" or "no" on whether the proposed constitution should be adopted. Only Iraqis inside the country can vote. There will be no overseas voting by expatriate Iraqis, as there was in the parliamentary elections in January. Iraqis will receive copies of the constitution written in Arabic or Kurdish, depending on their preference, included with their monthly food ration allocation, starting next month. To vote, Iraqis must register by Thursday, except in Anbar province, a heavily insurgent-infested area where voter registration...

Electricity: Turn the Lights On The insurgents know that depriving Iraq of power is at least as effective as killing soldiers and policemen. By By Joe Cochrane Newsweek International Sept. 5, 2005 issue - The political deadlock over a new constitution isn't the only reason Iraqis are nearing a breaking point. From rich businessmen to impoverished farmers, citizens from all walks of life are plagued by a seemingly unsolvable problem: the lack of electricity. Nearly two and a half years after U.S. tanks rolled into Baghdad, the American occupying force and two successive Iraqi governments have struggled to keep the...

The Iraqi Draft Constitution was approved by parliament, but not everybody is happy- The Sunnis mainly object to provisions allowing the creation of a semi-autonomous regional zones in the Shia south, which they say will splinter Iraq and allow Iran to establish a foothold. The Sunnis have also called on the document to uphold Iraq's "Arab identity" - a demand rejected by the Kurds - and opposed its ban on the Ba'ath party. Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric, said they would join Sunnis in opposing the draft, even though they said the document's ban on former Ba'athists...

28 August 2005 Khaleej Times Online BAGHDAD - Iraq’s draft constitution is ready to be put to an October 15 referendum despite the objections of Sunni Arabs, President Jalal Talabani announced on Sunday, drawing a line under 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,” Talabani told reporters at a ceremony 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...

President George W. Bush called the drafting of Iraq's constitution an "amazing event." But instead of fostering consensus, the process has actually increased chances for civil war. The constitution pits Islamists against secularists, Shia against Sunnis, Arabs against Kurds, and women against men. The "new Iraq" is a far cry from what President Bush had in mind when he promised freedom to the Iraqi people. In 2003, the United States thought it could simply decapitate Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime and easily establish a liberal democracy in the heart of the Arab world. Since then, the Bush administration has continually lowered...

Talks aimed at persuading Sunni Arabs to back the text of a new Iraqi constitution are to continue on Friday, the country's parliament speaker says. Hajim Hassani made the announcement as a third deadline passed with no deal. Earlier, the prime minister's spokesman said some changes had been made. But Sunnis remain opposed to federalism and a negotiator saw no prospect of a deal. Mr Hassani said whatever the outcome, the text - agreed by Shias and Kurds - would go to a referendum in October.

A final version of the Iraqi constitution has been completed and is set to be approved, an Iraqi Government spokesman has said. Political leaders had until tonight to agree a new constitution. Parliament had already granted Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish negotiators three more days to resolve the outstanding issues. During the negotiating process it emerged that Sunnis fear the federal structure of the new Government will give the Kurds and Shi'ites control over the country's oil revenues. They are also concerned that federalism will lead to an autonomous Shi'ite area in southern Iraq - under Iran's influence. A Shia and...

BAGHDAD - Framers of Iraq's constitution will designate Islam as the main source of legislation - a departure from the model set down by U.S. authorities during the occupation - according to a draft published yesterday. The draft states no law will be approved that contradicts "the rules of Islam" - a requirement that could affect women's rights and set Iraq on a course far different from the one envisioned when U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. "Islam is the official religion of the state and is the main source of legislation," reads the draft published in...

Returning to the United States from Baghdad a few days before the signing of Iraq's interim constitution, I found an America more seized with failures than with the considerable successes there. Nowhere do I find Americans aware that Iraqi children hug U.S. Army sanitary engineers who repair sewer and water pipes. The U.S. press -- critical of the failure to fix the electrical system as well as oil fields and pipelines by last summer -- ignores the return of electricity and oil production to prewar levels. Even the constitutional framework provokes questions about legitimacy rather than praise for accomplishment. This...

Iraq's United States-appointed Governing Council have gathered to sign an interim constitution crucial to US plans to hand sovereignty back to Iraqis, after Shiite Muslim politicians withdrew their objections. Sources close to the council's deliberations say it has passed a resolution to sign the constitution. The signing of the constitution has been delayed twice. The first delay was caused by bomb attacks on Shiites last Tuesday, which killed at least 181 people. Then last-minute doubts among Shiites forced the abandonment of a high-profile ceremony on Friday. Representatives of the five groups that backed out on Friday spent the weekend in...

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The world's Islamic nations gave a nod to Iraq's Governing Council on Tuesday and called for officials of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime to be brought to justice for alleged mass killings. Foreign ministers from the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference also called on group members to provide "all forms of support and assistance to meet Iraq's needs" so the war-torn country can quickly get back on its feet. The statement was sure to be a psychological boost to Baghdad's U.S. and British military rulers, who have been under fire from the Muslim world...