BAGHDAD, Aug. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Sunni Arabs insisted that federalism be removed from the draft constitution and left to the next parliament to decide, a senior Sunni negotiator told Xinhua on Saturday.

    "We want the concept of federalism to be postponed to the coming elected National Assembly, which would better represent the Iraqi society," Salih al-Mutlaq said, adding the Shiite and Kurdish concessions fell short of the Sunni demands.

    The Sunni Arab representatives demanded that the draft constitution include an article that says "Iraq is a single entity which should not be divided," while the Shiite and Kurdish drafters wanted to fix the principle of federalism in the constitution and to postpone its mechanism to the coming parliament, said Mutlaq.

    Federalism is the sticking point of disagreement between Sunnis,who boycotted the parliamentary elections in January, and the other two major political blocs, Shiites and Kurds.

    Mutlaq's comments came one day before an amended text would be submitted to a parliamentary session on Sunday.

    Iraq's Parliament Speaker Hachim al-Hassani announced Saturday that the Shiite and Kurdish blocs had accepted in principle the Sunni Arab proposals.

    Asked whether the ball is now in the court of the Sunni Arabs, he said, "The ball is in the field of Iraqi people and they will have the final say in the referendum."

    "I say the Iraqi people, not only Sunni Arabs, will say 'No' to the constitution, as we all insist that Iraq's sovereignty and integrity should not be touched," Mutlaq concluded.

    The draft constitution will fail if two-thirds of voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject it in the referendum to be held by Oct. 15.

    If the draft is approved, the elections will be held under the constitution to choose a formal parliament by Dec. 15. Enditem