Afghan President Hamid Karzai insisted today he was close to a deal on a new constitution, but officials said time was running out to break a deadlock.
Mr Karzai told reporters most of the contentious issues holding up agreement on the constitution at the 502-member Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, had been resolved.
But Loya Jirga delegates, in closed-door talks on the other side of Kabul to try to break the deadlock, predicted more demands for a stronger parliament and greater rights for minorities and the provinces.
Many voiced fury at what they saw as Mr Karzai's heavy hand in the debate, which has dragged on for 21 days and exposed potentially explosive ethnic divisions. "People in government just do what they want," Suliman Hamed, a delegate from the west, inhabited mainly by ethnic minority Tajiks, said. "The voting does not really count for much as the game is being played outside the assembly."
The Loya Jirga was suspended on Thursday amid chaotic scenes when 235 of the 502 delegates refused to vote on amendments to the draft charter.
Mr Karzai, from the main Pashtun clan, said the aim was a constitution that reflected the views and interests of all the people of Afghanistan. "It is important to have a constitution that comes with a near consensus if not total consensus," he said.
The constitution is intended to take Afghanistan to its first free election next year.
Delegates said the main problem was a demand by pro-parliamentary delegates that cabinet ministers should not hold dual citizenship. This would affect the key interior and finance ministries. Also unresolved was whether the Uzbek language, spoken mainly in the north, would be made official.
Opposition to Mr Karzai has been led by elements of the mainly Tajik Northern Alliance, who want a stronger parliament to limit his power.