The table, where members of the Iraqi Governing Council were scheduled to sign an interim constitution

BAGHDAD, March 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Last-minute objections by Shiite leaders delayed the signing of the country's new interim constitution Friday, March 5.

Five Shiite Council members did not turn up and press reports said that a rescheduled event is not expected until Monday at the earliest.

The objections are believed to focus on a clause allowing minorities to veto a permanent constitution as well as demands for more Shiites in a future rotating presidency, the BBC News Online reported Saturday, March 6.

Clauses in the draft reportedly stipulate that two-thirds of voters in any three provinces can veto the permanent charter in a referendum.

"Some of these provinces have only 400,000 or 500,000 people. We cannot have that number of people rejecting a constitution for 25 million people," said Hamed al-Bayati, of the Shiite Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri).

The Kurds' self-rule region includes three provinces - and reports suggest the Shiites may have now gone back on a pledge to give Kurds constitutional guarantees.

"The problem is article 61 part C. Three provinces can reject the whole constitution if they don't agree," said an advisor to Shiite council member Rajaa Habib al-Khuzai.

"If they refuse the constitution, it will be rejected," he was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying, requesting anonymity.

"We want to change this," he said.

Collective Presidency

Shiite members of the IGC are also apparently calling for a collective presidency that includes three Shiites, one Kurd and one Sunni Muslim. The draft stipulates a single President with two deputies.

Press reports said that objections by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to a draft agreement are understood to be have been behind the dispute that wrecked the Friday  planned ceremony.

Shiite politicians in Iraq are to consult the spiritual leader before agreeing to sign any new interim constitution, according to the BBC News Online.

The popular Sistani had called for full elections rather than the U.S. plan of a handover to a government chosen by regional caucuses.

The interim constitution, due to come into force on July 1, is aimed at seeing Iraq through a transitional period and into next year.

Comprising more than 60 articles, it enshrines values like freedom of speech and religion and is a big step in clearing the way for the June 30 transfer of sovereignty from the U.S. military to an interim Iraqi authority.

Although in principle the draft accepted the concept of a federal state, the question of self-rule for the Kurdish minority would only be decided finally by a future elected national assembly.

The draft agreement had also set aside 25% of the seats in the provisional legislature for women.