Baghdad — Iraq's Governing Council signed a landmark interim constitution Monday after resolving a political impasse sparked by objections from the country's top Shiite cleric. The signing was a key step in U.S. plans to hand over power to the Iraqis by July 1.
In a sign of future disputes, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani issued a religious decree just hours after the signing that said he still objected to the charter. He maintained that the constitution would be illegitimate until approved by an elected body.
"Any law prepared for the transitional period will not gain legitimacy except after it is endorsed by an elected national assembly," Ayatollah al-Sistani said in the fatwa, released on his website.
The signing took place before an audience of prominent Iraqi and American civilian and military officials, including the top administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. Of the 25 council members, 21 inked the document on an antique desk once owned by King Faisal I, Iraq's first monarch. Representatives of the other four members signed for them.
Iraqi women are seen yelling at a rally on Monday in Baghdad. They are protesting women's rights into the make-up of the new government. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Council president Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum called the signing a ``historic moment, decisive in the history of Iraq."
"There is no doubt that this document will strengthen Iraqi unity in a way never seen before," said Massoud Barzani, a Kurdish leader on the council. "This is the first time that we Kurds feel that we are citizens of Iraq."
Aside from Ayatollah al-Sistani's fatwa, there were other signs that the dispute that delayed plans to sign the constitution Friday might resurface.
Council member Ibrahim al-Jaafari read a statement signed by 12 of the 13 Shiite council members that said they agreed to sign the interim constitution without demanding changes only in order to safeguard national unity. Last week, bombers carried out deadly attacks on Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala.
"We say here our decision to sign the document is pegged to reservations," Mr. al-Jaafarai said.
One clause in dispute, according to Mr. al-Jaafari, would give Kurds and Sunni Arabs veto power over a permanent constitution expected to be drafted and put to a referendum next year. The other bars any changes to the document signed Monday except with the approval of a proposed president, his two deputies, and three-fourths of a parliament to be elected by January 2005.
Several Shiite council members said the disputed clauses will be subject to further negotiations. They said the clauses might be amended in an addendum to the interim constitution that is expected to be issued next month to decide the shape and functions of an interim government that will take over from the U.S.-led coalition on June 30.
The signing came nine days after a deadline set in a U.S. timetable. The delay was caused by a mourning period following bomb attacks on Shiite shrines, as well as political wrangling on the U.S.-picked council. The impasse strained relations between Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders and highlighted the power of Iraq's Shiite clergy.
The charter -- which includes a 13-article bill of rights -- enshrines Islam as one of the bases of law and outlines the shape of a parliament and presidency as well as a federal structure for the country. It will remain in effect until a permanent constitution is approved by a national referendum planned for late 2005.
About an hour before the signing ceremony began, insurgents fired mortar shells at two police stations in central Baghdad, injuring four people, including one policeman, Iraqi officials said.
Iraqi and U.S. officials still must agree on a method to create the government that will take power on June 30 and serve until national elections due by Jan. 31 - a task that will likely need help from the United Nations.
Monday's ceremony was a sign of unity after a similar ceremony planned for Friday fell apart when five of the council's 13 Shiite members refused to sign the document because al-Sistani objected to the clause requested by the Kurds. The last-minute disruption embarrassed U.S. coalition officials and angered others on the council who saw as it as a Shiite attempt to grab more power.
After urgent talks over the weekend, the ayatollah signaled to the five Shiite dissenters that he would not oppose the constitution despite his reservations, and the document was signed Monday without changes.
"We must put the interests of our nation above all of our interests. The world is waiting and expecting us to work in the service of our nation," Bahr al-Ulloum told council members in a meeting Monday before the signing. The members then unanimously approved the document with a show of hands.
Mr. Bremer will endorse the document in a separate letter congratulating the council members, who include 13 Shiites, five Kurds, five Sunni Arabs, a Christian and an ethnic Turk.
Ayatollah al-Sistani's opposition focused on a clause in the draft about next year's referendum on Iraq's permanent constitution: If two-thirds of voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject it, then the document cannot be adopted, parliament is dissolved and a general election is held to choose another assembly.
That gives Iraq's Kurdish and Sunni Arab minorities the power to veto a permanent constitution even if the Shiite majority approves it in next year's referendum.
The Kurds, who control Iraq's three northern provinces, wanted the clause to ensure that no charter could be passed that encroaches on their self-rule region in the north. Sunni Arabs also felt the clause was a useful safeguard.
Ayatollah al-Sistani, however, said the clause gave a minority an unfair veto over the majority's will, Shiite officials said.
