BAGHDAD, June 16: A deal was reached on Thursday for Sunnis to participate in a panel to draft Iraq’s new constitution, ending weeks of political wrangling and raising prospects that the resistance might be undermined as a result.

A meeting that pitted Sunni representatives with Shia and Kurdish MPs, who dominate parliament, agreed that Sunnis would have another 13 seats on a 55-member panel charged with drafting the constitution in addition to the two they currently hold.

They would also get another 10 slots as advisers.

“This solution was a compromise after Sunnis were adamant about having 25 members,” said Jawad Maliky, a Shia MP and committee member.

Shias and Kurds have voiced their eagerness to reach out to the Sunnis despite the fact that they hold only 16 seats in the 275-member parliament due to their widespread boycott of the election.

But there had been disagreement on the size, nature and conditions of that participation.

President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd who had backed Sunnis’ demands for 25 seats, confirmed the deal and said the panel would make its decisions by consensus rather than voting.

“So this means the number of seats does not matter that much after all,” said Saleh al Mutlaq of the Sunni National Dialogue Council, who took part in the talks.

He said Sunni groups would now get down to the task of choosing their 25 representatives.

A senior member of the influential Sunni Committee of Muslim Scholars, which had boycotted elections, quickly shot down the deal.

“We can never accept any process orchestrated from behind the scenes by the occupation,” charged Sheik Abdel Salam al Kubaisi.—AFP