Constitution drafted; Sunnis not on board

Shiite and Kurdish politicians beat a midnight deadline yesterday and submitted a draft constitution to Iraq’s National Assembly, but legislators postponed voting on the document for three days in a final bid to gain the support of skeptical Sunni Arab leaders.

After months of negotiations and a one-week extension, legislators had been expected to either approve a draft constitution by yesterday, officially endorse another delay or scrap the whole process and start over with new elections. Instead, visibly tired politicians muddled through to a half-resolution, presenting a document that left key issues unsettled.