Senior Sunni politicians have rejected concessions proposed by Kurdish and Shi’ite negotiators over the Iraqi constitution, generating fears that the charter will not be approved in a referendum.
The main points of dispute in the charter are federalism and the fate of former Ba’ath party members.
Sunnis fear their share of oil revenues will be damaged if the oil-rich Kurdish and Shi’ite regions are given broad federal autonomy.
Negotiators have been trying to draft a constitution that will be backed by all religious and ethnic groups in the country. The deadline has been postponed several times because the groups could not reach an agreement.
The United States is keen to see the Sunnis agree on a constitution, as they believe an agreed-upon constitution will subdue the Sunni-led terrorism in Iraq and will pave the way to the departure of American troops by next year.
The constitution still awaits approval of a referendum on October 15.
Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders proposed their compromises on Friday but the Sunnis said on Saturday that these offers were “unacceptable.”
Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Hajim Al-Hasani, tried to broker a formula acceptable to the Sunnis, but five leading Sunni politicians rejected the draft.
Sunnis are a minority in Iraq but they have the power to derail the charter in a referendum if they do not agree with it and Sunni leaders are already urging voters to vote against it.
If the constitution is rejected in the referendum, the parliament will be dissolved, a new legislature will be elected and the constitution drafting process will start from the beginning.