Another version of the reversion...
Iraq assembly reverses vote rule after UN warning
By Alastair Macdonald
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/iraq_dc;_ylt=AsufD42.4SzEsJSggz9itkys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament reversed on Wednesday a ruling that would have helped a new constitution win approval in a referendum, appeasing minority Sunnis after the United Nations hinted it might refuse to endorse the vote.
Sunni politicians, many of whom say the charter favors Shi'ites and Kurds, and the White House welcomed parliament's move, which changed a decision on Sunday easing conditions for the October 15 referendum to secure a "yes" vote.
The National Assembly's Shi'ite majority insisted it acted by itself and not under pressure of the UN's veiled warnings. It also said it might challenge results if voters appeared to be scared off by insurgents opposed to the process.
A suicide car bomber killed 14 people outside a Shi'ite mosque in Hilla, south of Baghdad, as worshippers gathered for the start of the holy month of Ramadan, police said. A U.S. commander warned of a surge in violence in the run-up to the vote, including attacks on high-profile government sites.
Many Sunnis had complained of double standards in Sunday's ruling that defined the word "voters" in two different ways in one sentence of the interim constitution, to the disadvantage of Sunnis hoping for a blocking "No" vote in three provinces.
"They have reversed their decision as we had hoped they would," said U.N. spokesman Said Arikat in Baghdad.
Some Sunnis, with few seats in parliament after shunning elections in January, had threatened a new boycott if the ruling was not reversed; few expect to defeat the constitution, but the assembly's jitters highlighted fears of chaos if the charter does fail.
Targets set for approval or rejection of the constitution now both refer to proportions of votes cast rather than, in the case of rejection, registered voters. It will take effect if half the votes cast nationwide are in favor, and fail if two thirds in three of Iraq's 18 regions are cast against it.
WASHINGTON POSITIVE
Washington, anxious to defuse revolt among Sunni Arabs and bring the once dominant minority into a political system founded after the U.S. invasion, was also dismayed when parliament, in the words of one U.N. official, "moved the goalposts" on Sunday.
"They should encourage broader political participation, and the vote today does that and we think that's positive," said Scott McClellan, spokesman for U.S. President George W. Bush.
"What happened on Sunday was a big mistake," Sunni member of parliament Said al-Zubaidi said. "It was an act of foolishness against democracy. What happened today is only natural.
"But no one asked us about it," he added. "If it had not been for the United Nations, nothing would have changed."
The Shi'ite-led government had also admitted discomfort: "What is important for the Iraqi government is the credibility and legitimacy of the process, not the outcome," spokesman Laith Kubba said. "We do not like the perception that this process is being manipulated to bring a particular outcome."
Hussain al-Shahristani, the Shi'ite deputy speaker and Saddam Hussein-era dissident who chaired the assembly session, insisted that parliament had acted on its own initiative and was not being pushed around by outside interference.
"We asked the U.N. to inform us of what are international standards," Shahristani told reporters, adding that Wednesday's resolution also contained three further conditions.
SECURITY SOUGHT
The government, he said, agreed to increase security at polling stations in violent areas and keep them there after the referendum to prevent reprisals against voters; to weed out election officials who might pass information on voters to the insurgents; and to note parliament's right to challenge in the courts regional ballots where voters seemed to be intimidated.
Shahristani said he was less concerned about the three Sunni provinces where a two-thirds "No" vote is seen as possible despite widespread violence than about mixed provinces such as Diyala, northeast of Baghdad. Al Qaeda militants there have threatened to kill anyone turning out to vote in the referendum.
The U.S. military is conducting two campaigns against what it calls "terrorists and foreign fighters" -- Operation Iron Fist near the Syrian border and Operation River Gate in the Euphrates valley.
Major General William Webster, commander of 32,000 foreign troops around Baghdad as well as thousands of Iraqi forces, said he was prepared for a spike in violence ahead of the voting.
"We expect violence to increase prior to the referendum. The insurgents do not want Iraq to adopt a new constitution," he told reporters.
U.S. officers have said guerrillas may target high-profile targets like the Green Zone government compound in Baghdad or try again to create a mass breakout from Abu Ghraib prison, where more than 3,000 Sunnis are held as insurgent suspects.
Webster said: "We think they will ... try to attack the symbols of the Iraqi government."
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