Deal in Iraq Raises Hopes For Passage of Constitution

Sunni negotiators say they hope they can influence the creation of the federal system if they have more members in the next parliament.

Another change agreed to Tuesday waters down a passage in the draft charter referring to members of Saddam Hussein's now-outlawed Baath Party as terrorists. The new language stipulates that "not all Baathists" are terrorists, Debagh said.

The senior official close to the talks, who spoke on condition he not be identified further, cautioned that even more last-minute changes to the deals might be made.

Debagh sounded less pleased than Kurdish and Sunni negotiators at Tuesday's compromises.

"This is the requirement of the Sunni," the Shiite negotiator said. "They have said if we do this, we will vote yes on the constitution."

Faction leaders said they would present the deal to parliament Wednesday afternoon. Hussein Shahristani, a Shiite who is deputy speaker of parliament, said he doubted lawmakers could muster the quorum needed to approve a final version of the draft constitution incorporating Tuesday's compromises.

With a four-day national curfew starting Thursday and a holiday called for on the day of the vote, lawmakers already have begun leaving Baghdad, Shahristani said. "I cannot see how it is possible for the members to come back to Baghdad," he said.

In addition, copies of the draft constitution went to press weeks ago and are already being distributed. Negotiators said Tuesday that they would rely on TV, radio and newspapers to give Iraqis the gist of changes in the charter.

"Until now, none of the normal people know that this has happened," said Jabouri, the Sunni negotiator. "I will announce my support on my satellite channel, and we will make sure people find out. I can say proudly that no more than 20 percent of Salahuddin province will say no, and 80 percent will say yes."

Salahuddin is one of at least three majority-Sunni provinces in Iraq. Defeating the constitution would take a no vote by two-thirds of voters in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces, and Sunnis in the west in particular have made clear in rallies, banners and statements that they intended to vote no.

Now, "the only opponents should be the Zarqawi people," Jabouri said, referring to followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the head of the insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq. "They oppose everything. If they wrote the constitution, they would oppose it."

Across Iraq on Tuesday, car bombings killed at least 36 civilians and policemen. The deadliest was in Tall Afar, where a suicide attacker drove a car laden with explosives into a crowded market and detonated them, killing 30 people, said Abdullah Najim, a policeman in the city.

"This is a threatening message sent to the Sunnis before the referendum," Najim said.

Separately Tuesday, Britain expressed regret and offered to pay compensation for personal injuries and property damage caused last month when its troops raided a prison in southern Iraq to free two British special forces soldiers, Reuters said. The clash in Basra soured relations between Iraq and Britain and increased anger at the British military presence there.

Finer reported from Najaf. Special correspondents Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad and Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.