Shi'ite politicians consulted with Iraq's top cleric today to resolve a dispute that wrecked the signing of an interim constitution.
The head of the Iraqi Governing Council said he thought the document would be signed on Monday.
The council struggled to find compromise after five Shi'ite members refused at the last minute to sign the accord despite agreeing to it earlier in the week.
That embarrassed US administrators who had planned an elaborate signing ceremony yesterday and touted the landmark constitution as a sign of Iraq's progress.
The Shi'ite reversal came after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani rejected two clauses in the document one that would have given Iraq's Kurds the power to scuttle a permanent charter, and another that would have provided for a single president rather than a rotating leadership.
Al-Sistani's ability to break the unity of the 25-member council was yet another illustration of his enormous influence in Iraqi politics.
The president of the council, who was among the members who balked at signing, said he expected the dispute to be resolved by Monday.
"We have announced that Monday is the date for the signing of the law and we are determined to stick to this date," Muhammad Bahr al-Ulloum told reporters in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.
AP