Friday, August 26 2005 10:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Baghdad: The speaker of Iraq's parliament announced a one-day extension early today (August 26, 2005) in talks on Iraq's new constitution - a fourth attempt to win Sunni Arab approval. But he said that if no agreement is reached, the document would bypass parliament completely and be decided in an October 15 referendum.

Hajim al-Hassani, speaking minutes after the midnight deadline, said after meeting for three days, "we found that time was late and we saw that the matters will need another day in order to reach results that please everyone."

Earlier, however, a Sunni Arab negotiator said Shiites didn't even show up for a late-night meeting. Today's session was an attempt to give the Shiites time to respond to proposals tabled at the meeting they didn't attend, al-Hassani said.

"There are pressures on everyone - by the Americans and also by factions," Kurdish negotiator Mahmoud Othman said. "They believe that there is hope and for that reason (al-Hassani) asked for an extension on the hope that maybe they reach the final stages."

But senior Shiite negotiator Ali Dabbagh said his bloc would resist any further changes to the draft which was submitted to parliament last Monday. Other Shiite lawmakers said it was time to stop haggling and let the voters decide.

Al-Hassani, a Sunni who was elected on the mostly Sunni ticket headed by former President Ghazi al-Yawer, agreed that no parliamentary vote was required since the assembly fulfilled its legal obligations by accepting the Shiite and Kurdish-approved draft three days ago.