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Deal reached afghan constitution { January 4 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=432306§ion=news http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=432306§ion=news Deal reached on Afghan constitution Sun 4 January, 2004 10:04 KABUL (Reuters) - Rival Afghan factions have agreed on a national constitution, officials say, paving the way for the first free elections in the country after nearly a quarter-century of war and bloodshed. The breakthrough came after weeks of wrangling at a constitutional assembly that exposed ethnic divisions and challenged the U.S. vision of a strong presidency. "There is good news, that we have reached a conclusion," Mirwais Yasini, deputy head of the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, commission, told delegates. A full session of the 502-member assembly was expected to reconvene in the afternoon for the first time since Thursday. The constitution will be read in the Pashto and Dari languages before being put to a show of hands. Last-minute discussions behind the scenes focused on language. A draft constitution considered Dari and Pashto to be the two official languages. Revisions are now expected to be approved to allow minority tongues to be officially recognised as the third language in areas where a language is spoken by the majority. Exact details of the final constitution have yet to be made public. U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai, from the Pashtun ethnic group, the largest in Afghanistan, has sought a strong presidential system ahead of polls supposed to be held in June that he is favoured to win. But ethnic minorities including Uzbeks and Tajiks have sought concessions that Western diplomats say would enhance the role of a parliament in return for their support for the charter. The assembly meeting is now in its fourth week, more than twice the time Karzai had hoped it would take to reach agreement.

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