Loya Jirga to move to a vote on the constitution

Following 16 days of debate and discussion at the Afghan Constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ), the 502-member UN-supervised meeting was called on to move towards voting on a final draft of the constitution as the open forum at the meeting resumed on Tuesday. The CLJ was divided into 50-member working groups and then, over the last five days, a reconciliation committee which coordinated differing opinions and added them to the final draft, according to the CLJ chairman. Amendments and changes had been effected to about 30 articles of the 160-article draft; the final draft would be re-examined, then ratified by secret ballot on Tuesday, said Sibghatullah Mujaddidi, the chairman of the CLJ. "The delegates have been given time to study the final draft prepared by the reconciliation committee and only that new change can be reviewed which is proposed by a minimum of 151 delegates," he added. Observers at the historic gathering say there have been no major arguments over the past few days, as compared with the opening days. But opponents are still pressing that parliament be awarded sufficient powers to keep the president in check, and for a stronger role for Islam. A compromise draft unveiled on Sunday would compel the president to consult parliament on all major policies and seek its approval on key appointments. Despite broad agreement, some delegates seemed dissatisfied with the final draft. Jehadi leaders and commanders criticised the fact that a demand for a constitutional court to be included in the final draft had been omitted. "We all agreed during the reconciliation committee on having a constitutional court [Diwan-e Ali], but now it is not in the printed draft, which means there have been some changes in our absence," former President Burhanuddin Rabbani and leader of Jamiat-e Islami [Islamic Association, comprising mainly Turkmen, Uzbek and Tajik leaders] told IRIN at the CLJ. Other delegates said they were satisfied with the final draft and the additional discussions were more for the advancement of political interests. "I think crucial elements have been widely debated, and these few concerns are mixed with deep political interests," Mohammad Gol Kochi, a delegate representing thousands of the country's nomads, told IRIN. He added that although there would be more debate, he was confident the gathering would wind up on Wednesday. Women - comprising 20 percent of the 502 delegates - said they were broadly happy, having seen a clear definition for equal rights of citizens in the final draft. This had been one of their major demands which had not figured in the draft before the CLJ started. The final draft states that all the citizens of Afghanistan - clearly mentioning both men and women - have equal rights and responsibilities. "This is one of the major demands of women and we hope it will not be rejected or changed by others," a female CLJ delegate who declined to be named told IRIN.