BAGHDAD - Iraqis are to vote Saturday on a draft constitution that is based on a federal system of government and has Islam as "a basic source of legislation".

Around 15.5 million voters from Iraq's total population of 26 million are registered to decide on the charter that would turn another page on Saddam Hussein's regime.

Following are some of the main articles of the draft constitution:

POLITICAL SYSTEM

- The political system is republican, federal, democratic, parliamentary and pluralist.

- The Republic of Iraq is made up of a capital, regions, and decentralised provincial and local administrations.

- A region consists of one or more provinces, and is granted a broad range of powers.

- Iraq is part of the Muslim world and is a founding and effective member of the League of Arab Nations and is committed to its charter.

- The official languages are Arabic and Kurdish which should be used in official institutions such as parliament, the cabinet and courts.

- It is illegal to pass laws which contradict democratic or Islamic principles.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

- Regional governments have the right to exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers, except for the prerogatives reserved for the federal authorities.

- The regional government does what is needed to administer the region, especially establishing and regulating internal security forces for the region such as police, security and guards.

- The region writes a constitution for itself, defines the structures of its powers and its authorities as well as the mechanism of using these powers in a way that does not run contrary to the constitution.

- The constitution will endorse the region of Kurdistan and its existing power as a federal region

NATIONAL PARLIAMENT

- The federal National Assembly has one seat for every 100,000 inhabitants. Its members represent the Iraqi people in their entirety. Parliament has a four-year mandate. At least 25 percent of seats are reserved for women.

PRESIDENT

- The executive federal power is the president of the republic and the cabinet.

- The president is elected by a two-thirds majority in parliament for a four-year term. He must be an Iraqi by birth, born of Iraqi parents and aged at least 40.

- The president tasks the leader of the bloc with a majority of seats in parliament to form a government. The prime minister chooses a cabinet and is the general commander of the armed forces. He must have a university degree and be aged at least 35.

RELIGION

- Islam is the religion of the state and "a basic source" of the law.

- The constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom to practice religion.

OIL

- Oil and gas are the property of all the Iraqi people. The central government manages oil and gas extracted from current wells, in cooperation with the governments of producing regions and provinces.

- The revenues should be "distributed fairly" throughout the country according to the population size of each region.

- Article 109 adds that it is necessary to define, for a specific period, a quota for regions which were deprived of oil revenue under the former regime. It also stipulates that the federal government and governments of producing regions and provinces together will draw up the necessary strategic policies to develop oil and gas wealth.

BAATH PARTY

- Article 7 of the first chapter, entitled "Basic Principles", bans any entity which advocates racism, terrorism or ethnic cleansing, especially Saddam Hussein's Baath Party even under a new name.

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