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Canceling article 50 of elections law
unconstitutional
7.10.2008
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October 7, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region "Iraq", —
Speaker of Kurdistan’s parliament Adnan Mufti on
Monday considered that it is unconstitutional to
omit item 50 of the provincial council elections
law, according to a release issued by the
parliament.
"Kurdistan parliament supports the demands of
Christians and other religious and ethnic components
concerning provincial elections law," the release
that was received by VOI quoted Adnan Mufti.
"Kurdistan's regional constitution recognizes
minorities' rights more than the federal
constitution of Iraq," he said.
"Minorities participate in the democratic process in
Kurdistan,www.ekurd.net
and enjoy all their
civil, cultural, and administrative rights," he
added. |
Dr Adnan Mufti, Iraqi Kurdistan parliament speaker |
On September 24, the
Iraqi Parliament unanimously voted on the
contentious law on provincial council elections
following months of fierce debate.
The Parliament's decision to remove Article 50,
which specifies a quota for minorities in provincial
councils, has sparked heated reactions from several
political blocs representing the country's
Christians as well as other minorities.
On July 22, the Iraqi Parliament, with the approval
of 127 deputies out of 140 who attended the session,
passed the law on provincial council elections,www.ekurd.net
which includes an
article postponing the elections in the city of
Kirkuk.
Lawmakers from the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) had
withdrawn from the session in protest against
Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's decision to have a
secret balloting over article 24 of the law,
pertaining to the status of Kirkuk. Balloting over
all the other paragraphs of the law, however, was
open.
The Presidential Board, with the unanimity of
President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies Adel
Abdelmahdi and Tareq al-Hashimi, rejected the law in
a rapid reaction one day after the Iraqi Parliament
passed it during a session that raised hue and cry
over its constitutionality.
The law drew angry reactions from the Kurds, who
considered the way the law was passed as a "twisting
of the constitution," threatening to use the right
of veto, granted by the Iraqi constitution for the
Presidential Board, headed by President Talabani, a
Kurd, to reject the law and return it to the
Parliament for debate.
The law on provincial council elections, which is
seen as supplementary to the law on regions and
non-regional provinces, which was approved by the
Parliament in February, has sparked heated
controversy among political blocs.
The law specifies the system of government in Iraq,
and if applied, a federal system may be established
in the country with three separate regions, a call
echoed by some Iraqi political parties.
Meanwhile, the newspaper published a lengthy study
conducted by a former Iraqi army commander,www.ekurd.net
Raad al-Hamdani, in
which he examined the current status of Iraqi
security and military institutions and forces, and
their potentiality for reform.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
VOI
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