The Sunni Arab constitution writers announced Sunday that they rejected the draft, calling on the United Nations (UN) and Arab League (AL) to intervene.

"We announce our rejection to the illegal draft as it was written without consensus," a Sunni cleric, Abdul Nasser al-Janabi, told reporters in a press conference after the parliament session.

"We call on UN, AL and international organizations to intervene so that this document is not passed and the clear defect in it is corrected," he said.

However, Janabi pledged that the Sunnis would stay a "vital part of the political process" by actively taking part in the coming elections.

For his part, Salih al-Mutlaq, a leading Sunni negotiator, said, "we will call for a national conference for different Iraqi religious and political forces to say their final word toward the draft."

Mutlaq said the "marginalized groups (Sunnis) did not object all the articles of the draft but we objected essential issues concerning the unity of Iraq and its Arab identity."

"Our brothers in the Kurdish coalition and Shiite alliance believe it is a perfect chance to gain more than they deserve, which they can not have if there was democratic elections," Mutlaq added.

The Shiite alliance and the Kurds control 221 of the 275 parliament seats which made them win easily any parliamentary vote.

Mutlaq accused the Americans and the Iraqi government of intervening in the draft discussions, saying "we demanded more time for negotiations to reach a consensus, but the Americans insisted to end discussion."

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2005)