Iraq’s about-turn on constitution vote rules

The move came as thousands of US troops widened a sweep for Al-Qaeda fighters in a new offensive along the Euphrates Valley near the Syrian border in a bid to shore up security ahead of the October 15 vote,

The latest change in voting rules came only three days after MPs altered them in a way that drew sharp criticism from the United States and the United Nations as well as the increasingly alienated Sunni Arab minority.

The political flap revolved around the terms under which the charter would be approved, and what could block its adoption. Wednesday's measure, approved by 119 of the 147 MPs present, places all voters on an equal footing.

The constitution will be approved if a simple majority of all those who turn out to vote say "yes" and if two-thirds of voters in at least three provinces do not say "no."

Sunday's change had referred to "voters" in terms of approval and "registered voters" for rejection.

The once all-powerful Sunnis, largely behind the ongoing insurgency, have enough registered voters in three provinces to torpedo the constitution, but have generally called for a boycott.

The vote on the constitution is a key stage in the country's political transition following the ouster of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by US-led forces in April 2003.

And it is being held just four days before Saddam and seven of his former henchmen are due to go on trial over a massacre of Shiite villagers in 1982. They face the death penalty if convicted.

"You cannot have two different meanings in one article. It's using interpretation to your own benefit," a representative of the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq had said Tuesday of the changes to voting rules.

And US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said parliament should stick to the spirit and the letter of the original article.

"In doing so, we think that, whatever the result of their discussions may be, that they should aim to broaden the political consensus," he said.

The charter has caused deep divisions between the Sunnis and the rival majority Shiites and their Kurdish allies who now dominate parliament.

Many Sunni Arab leaders have urged rejection of the text on the grounds that it undermines national unity by opening the doors to federalism, and waters down Iraq's "Arab" identity.