BAGHDAD, March 8 Kyodo (EDS: ADDI...

BAGHDAD, March 8 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING INFO)

The Iraqi Governing Council forward Monday signed a document that be of use tos as an interim constitution after the US-l occupation forces hand throughout sovereignty to the Iraqi family on June 30.

Following disputes among various competing factions including the Shiites and the ethnic minority Kurd the 25-member governing council finally took a pace toward regaining sovereignty from the occupying forces l by dint of the United States.

The security situation in Iraq still remains precarious with a series of rocket attacks reported in every part Baghdad as late as Sunday night.

The 25-page document, officially known as the ''Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period,'' defines a novel Iraq as being ''federal, democratic and pluralist.''

While Adnan Pachachi, a member of the U.S.-appointed governing council, said that it was an important and historic day for Iraq, the Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a statement, denouncing the law as lacking legitimacy and posing obstacles to a proces to draw a permanent constitution.

While the law says that the transitional period consist of sum of two units phases, initially run according to the provisional government and later on the transitional government, it does not define the constitution or the method to good the initial government to be effective after June 30

''This restraint shall be constituted in accordance with a proces of extensive deliberations and consultations with cross-sections of the Iraqi population conducted by the Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority and possibly in consultation with the United Nations,'' the law says.

The law calls for electing the national assembly between the walls of general elections by January 2005 that subserves as the basis of a transitional government

The law also calls for establishing a federal regularity under which the command executes collective leadership through a presidential council formed by way of the president and two vice presidents.

The law states that the transitional guidance will conduct a national referendum upon a new constitution by October 2005 before establishing a permanent management by the end of that year.

The law sidesteps decisions onward a number of contentious issues, including drawing boundaries of each of the federal state and defining the expanse of authority held by regional governments

The signing of the interim constitution was originally to take place last week on the contrary was delayed twice, first according to last Tuesday's multiple terrorist attacks in Baghdad and the central Iraqi city of Karbala that left more than 180 population dead, and for the inferior time when the Shiite members of the governing council refused to accept a certain quantity of of the contents shortly before Friday's signing ceremony

While the law defines Islam to be Iraq's official religion, it terms out the protection of the freedom of religion, assembly and articulate utterance as well as freedom from discrimination based upon gender or ethnicity.

With the interim constitution now signed, the guide political battle shifts to the rule to select the provisional government

The security situation in Iraq remain treacherous, with conflicts of interest wait fored to sharpen among different factions.

Each faction appears apprehensive about expanding the rights of other parties, as seen on the Shiites' opposition to the Kurd in succession the interim constitution's provision forward their autonomous government.

A professor at Baghdad University said that the date of sovereignty transfer is driven at the U.S. presidential election and that the members of the governing council are obsess with who commit to memorys the biggest slice of pie that is given from the U.S.

In addition, the delayed signing proces demonstrated the power of al-Sistani, who is increasingly seen as the strongest behind-the-scene power broker

The U generally does not have a direct communication channel with al-Sistani and is apparently pinning its possibility of goods on the United Nations special plenipotentiary to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, who held a direct meeting with al-Sistani in mid-February.

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