Amendment to the Constitution of Iraq

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The government of Iraq has established a committee to consider a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Iraq.

Contents

Current constitution

The current Constitution of Iraq was drafted by a committee of the Iraqi Transitional Government. The agreed text was put to a referendum in October 2005. It was approved by 79% of voters and 15 out of 18 governorates.

Agreement to consider amendments

In an agreement prior to the referendum, the largest Sunni Arab majority party, the Iraqi Islamic Party agreed to support a "Yes" vote as long as the first parliament elected under the constitution agreed to consider amendments. This agreement was written into Article 142 of the constitution.

Procedure

Article 142 of the constitution states that the Council of Representatives shall form a committee from its members "representing the principal components of the Iraqi society", which should present proposed amendments to the Council within four months. [1] The amendment package shall be voted on as a whole by the Council, and if it is passed, put to a referendum, which shall pass if approved by a majority of voters and is not rejected by a two-thirds majority in three or more governorates. The conditions for this referendum are the same as the conditions for the original ratification referendum.

The constitution can also be amended by a general procedure, laid down in Article 126, which requires a two-thirds approval in the Council of Ministers, followed by approval by a simple majority in a referendum.

Committee appointment

The committee of 27 was appointed on 2006-09-25, chaired by Iraqi Accord Front member Ayad al-Samarrai. The committee comprised 27 members [2] [3] drawn from senior politicians across the political spectrum in rough proportions to the Council of Representatives of Iraq that was elected in the Iraqi legislative election of December 2005:

In addition the representatives of the Turkmen, Mandaeans and Yazidis were invited to nominate a member each to join the committee [6]

The Iraqi National Dialogue Front have rejected the deal that lead to the formation of the committee and have refused to participate.

Amendments proposed

Seven areas have been identified as areas where one or more of the political forces in Iraq would like to change: [7]

  1. The ability of constitutional changes to be vetoed by three out of the 19 governorates
  2. Iraq's Arab identity
  3. The shape of the federal system
  4. The status of Kirkuk
  5. The split of oil revenues between national and regional governments
  6. The role of Islam
  7. De-Baathification

Positions

The main proposed amendments have come from the Sunni Arab majority parties who want to make it more difficult to establish an oil-rich Shiite "super-region" in the south of Iraq [8] [9]

However, SCIRI has insisted that "essence" of the constitution should be maintained and has pushed for the creation of a Shiite Region covering the nine southern governorates. On March 16 Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of SCIRI proposed a compromise whereby two Regions are created - one in the far South near Basra and one for the middle Euphrates region. [10] The Islamic Virtue Party governor of Basra has expressed support for a Region covering Basrah and its only its two neighbouring governorates of Maysan and Dhiqar. [11] The Sadrist Movement supports a stronger central government, saying that federalism should not be applied to the south "while Iraq is still under occupation". [12]

The National Dialogue Front has asked that the de-Baathification provisions be reworded to "be fair to those that have suffered under this article". [13]

Some Shiite leaders had proposed changing the country's official name to the Islamic Republic of Iraq, a move opposed by Iraq's secularists. [14]

Iraq Study Group

The Iraq Study Group of senior American politicians recommended that the constitution be amended as follows: [15]

Kurdistani Alliance

The Kurdistani Alliance submitted a working paper in April 2007 with the following proposed changes:

Iraqi Accord Front

The Iraqi Accord Front was reported in July 2007 of seeking the following changes: [17]

Related Research Articles

Iraq is federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and legislative power is vested in the Council of Representatives.

Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Iraqi political party

The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq is an Iraqi Shia Islamist Iraqi political party. It was established in Iran in 1982 by Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim and changed its name to the current Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq in 2007. Its political support comes from Iraq's Shia Muslim community.

Iraqi Islamic Party Political party in Iraq

The Iraqi Islamic Party is the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It was part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is part of the current government of Haider al-Abadi since 2014. Osama Tawfiq al-Tikriti succeeded Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi as the party's secretary-general on 24 May 2009, who was succeeded in July 2011 by Ayad al-Samarrai.

National Iraqi Alliance Political party in Iraq

The National Iraqi Alliance, also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the 2010 Iraqi legislative election. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties. The alliance was created by the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq to contest in the January 2005 and December 2005 under the name United Iraqi Alliance, when it included all Iraq's major Shi'a parties. The United Iraqi Alliance won both those of elections however later fell apart after several major parties left the alliance due to disputes with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Supreme Council.

Council of Representatives of Iraq Legislature of Iraq

The Council of Representatives, usually referred to simply as the Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Iraq. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad inside the Green Zone.

The Constitution of the Republic of Iraq is the fundamental law of Iraq. The first constitution came into force in 1925. The current constitution was adopted on September 18, 2005 by the Transitional National Assembly of Iraq, and confirmed by constitutional referendum, held on October 15, 2005. It was published on December 28, 2005 in the Official Gazette of Iraq, in Arabic original, and thus came into force. Official translation for international use was produced in cooperation between Iraqi state authorities and the United Nation's Office for Constitutional Support. Since 2006, several proposals for adoption of various constitutional amendments were initiated. The Kurdish language is official at state level.

December 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 15 December 2005, following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum of 15 October.

2005 Iraqi governorate elections

Governorate council elections were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005, the same day as the elections for the transitional Iraqi National Assembly. Each province has a 41-member council, except for Baghdad, whose council has 51 members.

The first government of Iraq led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office on May 20, 2006 following approval by the members of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005. The government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government which had continued in office in a caretaker capacity until the new government was formed and confirmed.

Kirkuk status referendum Canceled vote on whether Kirkuk should be part of Kurdistan Region

The Kirkuk status referendum was the Kirkuk part of a planned plebiscite to decide whether the disputed territories of Northern Iraq should become part of the Kurdistan Region. The referendum was initially planned for 15 November 2007, but was repeatedly delayed and ultimately never took place.

Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir

Sheikh Jalal al-Din Ali al-Sagheer is an Iraqi politician and a former member of parliament in the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. Prior to the 2003 US-led Invasion of Iraq he was the chairman of the Paris Mosque in France. He is the imam of the Shi'a Buratha Mosque in Baghdad.

Ayad al-Samarrai is a Sunni Arab Iraqi politician, who was the chairman of the Iraqi Accord Front parliamentary group, and since July 2011 is the Secretary-General of the Iraqi Islamic Party. He was elected as the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament on April 19, 2009, and served until June 2010.

2009 Iraqi governorate elections

Governorate or provincial elections were held in Iraq on 31 January 2009, to replace the local councils in fourteen of the eighteen governorates of Iraq that were elected in the 2005 Iraqi governorate elections. 14,431 candidates, including 3,912 women, contested 440 seats. The candidates came from over 400 parties, 75% of which were newly formed.

2010 Iraqi parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 7 March 2010. The elections decided the 325 members of the Council of Representatives who would elect the prime minister and president. The elections resulted in a partial victory for the Iraqi National Movement, led by former Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which won 91 seats, making it the largest alliance in the Council. The State of Law Coalition, led by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, was the second largest grouping with 89 seats.

The Al Anbar Governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.

The Baghdad governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.

The Basra governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk.

2009 Nineveh governorate election

The Nineveh Governorate election of 2009 was held on 31 January 2009 alongside elections for all other governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk Governorate.

2009 Kirkuk governorate election

Governorate or provincial elections are due to be held in Kirkuk Governorate in 2009 to replace the governorate council elected in the 2005 Iraqi governorate elections. The remaining governorates outside Iraqi Kurdistan held elections on 31 January 2009.

This article concerns the formation process of the Al Maliki I Government of Iraq in the aftermath of the Iraq National Assembly being elected on December 15, 2005. Due to disputes over alleged vote-rigging the results of the election were only certified by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq on February 10, 2006.

References

  1. ↑ Iraqi Constitution, UNESCO
  2. ↑ Iraq Forms Panel on Constitution Changes, The Guardian , 2006-09-25
  3. ↑ Iraqis Reach Temporary Compromise on Federalism, Threats Watch , 2006-09-27
  4. ↑ The Draft Law for the Formation of Regions: A Recipe for Permanent Instability in Iraq?, Historiae, 2006-09-27
  5. ↑ constitution amendments committee formed Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Niqash , 2006-09-27
  6. ↑ constitution amendments committee formed Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Niqash, 2006-09-28
  7. ↑ Intractable positions on the constitution Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine , Niqash, 2007-09-23, accessed on 2007-10-02
  8. ↑ Iraq forms panel on Constitution Changes, The Guardian , 2006-09-25
  9. ↑ Sunnis back govt talks but say demands must be met, Malaysian Star , 2006-01-22
  10. ↑ US/Iraqi Attack on Samarra Region Parliament Sworn In, Informed Comment , 2006-03-17
  11. ↑ Proposal to divide Iraq into semi-autonomous states gains ground Archived 2006-06-26 at the Wayback Machine , Kurdish Media, 2005-05-25
  12. ↑ Iraq's Federalism Debate Rages On Archived 2006-10-12 at the Wayback Machine , Institute for War and Peace Reporting , 2006-09-26
  13. ↑ the constitutional amendments committee: "crises" at the beginning of the road Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine , Niqash, 2006-10-11
  14. ↑ Otterman, Sharon; Beehner, Lionel (27 April 2005). "Iraq: Drafting the Constitution". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Panel offers recommendations to tackle Iraq's 'dire' plight Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine , Turkish Daily News , 2006-12-08
  16. ↑ Security position grabs Iraqi media attention, Al-Mashriq via Iraq Updates, 2007-04-08, accessed on 2007-07-02
  17. ↑ Sectarian disputes delay constitution, Gulf News, 2007-07-09, accessed on 2007-07-09
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