Draft constitution distributed to Iraqi voters

Iraqis today began picking up copies of the draft constitution they will vote on next week, after the country’s Shiite-led parliament ended a bitter dispute with Sunni legislators about how the referendum will be conducted.

“We are going to read the draft constitution. If we like it, we will vote yes. If we don’t, we’ll say no,” said Lamia Dhyab, a woman wearing a chador, the traditional head-to-toe black outfit that Muslim females often wear. She was lined up with other Iraqis in her neighbourhood of Dora, a southern part of the capital that has been hard hit by insurgent attacks.