Related Event: Iraq in Transition

Under US and UN pressure, Iraq's Shiite-led parliament Wednesday reversed its last-minute electoral law changes, which would have ensured passage of a new constitution but which the United Nations called unfair.

Iraqi Trade Ministry said they have begun handing copies of the country's draft constitution to agents for distribution.

Bahjat Ahmad, director of Abu Jaafar al-Mansour Ration Centre says that most of the ration agents have been informed to deliver the draft.
"We started informing ration agents to come to receive copies of draft constitutions. We began handing over these copies and we are going ahead in delivering the constitution."

Having passed the new rules on Sunday, Iraq's Shiite-dominated parliament effectively closed the door that would have given the minority a chance of vetoing the constitution

The United Nations had criticized the changes as unfair to Sunni Arab minority, which had threatened to boycott the vote.

After a brief debate, the majority of the assembly agreed to restore the original voting rules for the referendum, which will take place next week.

Also, a bomb exploded at the entrance of a Shiite mosque south of Baghdad, killing at least 25 and wounding 87, as hundreds of worshippers gathered there for prayers at the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan.

It was the latest in a string of insurgent attacks aimed at wrecking the October 15 referendum.