ONE of Iraq’s main Sunni parties agreed last night to back the controversial constitution in the referendum this Saturday after striking a surprise deal with the country’s ruling Shia and Kurdish blocks.

As Sunnis across the country prepared to vote down the charter — whose provisions on federalism they fear could lead to the break-up of Iraq along ethnic and religious lines — Ayad Sammarai, a spokesman for the influential Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, emerged from last-ditch talks to announce that his group would back the US-sponsored constitution.

“There was an agreement and we are calling for a ‘yes’ vote,” he said. “It will give us the opportunity to review the constitution.”

The volte-face is a boost to Washington, which has touted the success of the constitution as a key stepping stone to progress in Iraq. Other negotiators attending last night’s talks sounded a more cautious note, however, emphasising that since Sunnis boycotted the elections in January, no one could say how much influence the Islamic Party actually wields.

“It’s not right, only the Islamic Party was there among all the Sunnis,” Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish MP, said. Under the new deal, the Sunni party agreed to back the constitution in exchange for the dominant Shia and Kurdish parties agreeing to review it in the National Assembly four months after the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for December.

“Nothing is decided yet, but people are optimistic they’ll reach a decision,” Mr Othman said. The independent MP, who has held posts in all the major postwar administrations, said that at best the deal would only postpone outstanding differences between the Shias, Kurds and Sunnis, who all have different views on how the country should develop.

“The United States just want the referendum and the election to be passed without problems, they don’t care what happens after that,” he said.

“The happiest person will be (US ambassador) Zalmay Khalilzad. This will just delay the problem by six months, God knows what will happen after that.” The Iraqi authorities have given Saddam Hussein, in common with all prisoners, a vote on what kind of regime should replace him.

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