December 27, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1424

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KABUL, Dec 26: Delegates to Afghanistan’s grand assembly were on Friday due to wrap up talks on the draft constitution as President Hamid Karzai insisted on a strong presidency.

Delegates have been wrangling over the future form of Afghan democracy after Karzai refused to compromise on his demands for a strong presidential system despite calls for a parliament with real teeth to offset the president’s power.

A committee of delegates to the loya jirga has been working to reconcile the conflicting views of President Karzai and powerful faction leaders on whether Afghanistan should have a presidential or parliamentary system.

Other delegates were on Friday discussing problems in their provinces with government ministers, President Karzai’s spokesman Jawed Ludin said.

Meanwhile, the reconciliation committee was working to hammer out a compromise between competing factions in the loya jirga on the future system for governing Afghanistan.—AFP