Niqash.org
/ politics
tue 27 oct 09
kirkuk divide delays election law
For the third time within one week Iraqi lawmakers have failed to reach agreement on an electoral law for January’s parliamentary elections due to continued conflict over the status of Kirkuk.
Divisions between the four ethnic groups who make up the province has yet again blocked the passage of the law.
Bahaa al-A’raji, the head of parliament’s legal committee, said that “the law was not approved because partisan interests were more important for parliament members than the country and its supreme interests.”
The root of the problem, say observers, is that Arab and Turkmen representatives want to use the old 2004 electoral voting registers, produced before the return of tens of thousands of Kurds to the city. The Kurds meanwhile insist on the use of the latest voting registers which reflect their new demographic strength.
But Arabs and Turkmen say that the Kurdistan Alliance list which controls Kirkuk’s provincial council has illegally resettled thousands of Kurds in the province who were not originally from the area in order to secure an electoral majority.
Saad al-Din Arkeej, a member of the Iraqi parliament and the head of the Turkmen Front said in a press conference that the “Turkmen in Iraq in general and in Kirkuk in particular will not legitimize an election process whose result are predetermined. They will not permit attempts which will lead to the loss of the city.”
The Kurdistan Alliance bloc is now seeking the adoption of a law which stipulates that Kirkuk is one electoral district similar to all other Iraqi provinces. Arabs and Turkmen want Kirkuk to be divided into four electoral districts which would allow the city’s four ethnicities to be represented in parliament and would prevent Kurdish domination.
Following parliament’s failure to ratify the law, the issue has now been handed over to the National Political Council, composing the President and his deputies, the president of parliament and the Prime Minister, in a bid to push the process forward.
Fouad Massoum, head of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc, expressed optimism that “the political blocs will be able to reach consensus to resolve outstanding issues in the election law, especially those related to Kirkuk.”
Even so, observers fear that the delay may lead to the postponement of January’s elections, or to the adoption of the old law - the closed list system passed in 2005 – which for most political blocs is unacceptable.
Iyad al-Samarae, the parliament speaker and a member of the Political Council, commented that "any delay in reaching an agreement on the election law means a loss to all parties.” However, he stressed that “the conflict will not have any impact on the date of the elections.”
Kurds say that political opponents are exploiting the Kirkuk issue in order to push back elections or force the close-list system back into play.
“The issue of considering Kirkuk a special area and dividing it into four districts has been used as a justification by some parties who are demanding the adoption of the open list system to postpone elections and ultimately leading to the adoption of the closed list system,” said Tania Talat, a female parliamentarian for the Kurdistan Alliance.
Ad Melkert, the new United Nations envoy to Iraq, has called on parties to reach an agreement, saying that "time is critical and further delays in ratifying the amendment clarifications and the legal framework can adversely affect both the current electoral timeline and ultimately the credibility of the electoral process."
Melkert called on lawmakers to work quickly to make sure necessary legislation is in place for the January elections and is said to have urged Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to pressure Shia forces and parliamentary blocs to reach an agreement.
In an attempt to reach a solution regarding the Kirkuk issue, parliament is now examining a proposal submitted by UNAMI which would give Kurds a simple majority and lesser shares to Arabs, Turkmen and Christians.
However, this proposal is not acceptable to Kurdish parliamentarians because they say that “if seats are allocated to minorities in Kirkuk, why shouldn’t Kurds be granted similar shares in other provinces where there are Kurdish minorities.”
Muhammad Khalil, a parliamentarian for the Kurdistan Alliance, said that his bloc will “demand that Baghdad, Ninawa, Diyala and Salahuddin be considered special areas if Kirkuk is.”
tue 27 oct 09
kirkuk divide delays election law
For the third time within one week Iraqi lawmakers have failed to reach agreement on an electoral law for January’s parliamentary elections due to continued conflict over the status of Kirkuk.
Divisions between the four ethnic groups who make up the province has yet again blocked the passage of the law.
Bahaa al-A’raji, the head of parliament’s legal committee, said that “the law was not approved because partisan interests were more important for parliament members than the country and its supreme interests.”
The root of the problem, say observers, is that Arab and Turkmen representatives want to use the old 2004 electoral voting registers, produced before the return of tens of thousands of Kurds to the city. The Kurds meanwhile insist on the use of the latest voting registers which reflect their new demographic strength.
But Arabs and Turkmen say that the Kurdistan Alliance list which controls Kirkuk’s provincial council has illegally resettled thousands of Kurds in the province who were not originally from the area in order to secure an electoral majority.
Saad al-Din Arkeej, a member of the Iraqi parliament and the head of the Turkmen Front said in a press conference that the “Turkmen in Iraq in general and in Kirkuk in particular will not legitimize an election process whose result are predetermined. They will not permit attempts which will lead to the loss of the city.”
The Kurdistan Alliance bloc is now seeking the adoption of a law which stipulates that Kirkuk is one electoral district similar to all other Iraqi provinces. Arabs and Turkmen want Kirkuk to be divided into four electoral districts which would allow the city’s four ethnicities to be represented in parliament and would prevent Kurdish domination.
Following parliament’s failure to ratify the law, the issue has now been handed over to the National Political Council, composing the President and his deputies, the president of parliament and the Prime Minister, in a bid to push the process forward.
Fouad Massoum, head of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc, expressed optimism that “the political blocs will be able to reach consensus to resolve outstanding issues in the election law, especially those related to Kirkuk.”
Even so, observers fear that the delay may lead to the postponement of January’s elections, or to the adoption of the old law - the closed list system passed in 2005 – which for most political blocs is unacceptable.
Iyad al-Samarae, the parliament speaker and a member of the Political Council, commented that "any delay in reaching an agreement on the election law means a loss to all parties.” However, he stressed that “the conflict will not have any impact on the date of the elections.”
Kurds say that political opponents are exploiting the Kirkuk issue in order to push back elections or force the close-list system back into play.
“The issue of considering Kirkuk a special area and dividing it into four districts has been used as a justification by some parties who are demanding the adoption of the open list system to postpone elections and ultimately leading to the adoption of the closed list system,” said Tania Talat, a female parliamentarian for the Kurdistan Alliance.
Ad Melkert, the new United Nations envoy to Iraq, has called on parties to reach an agreement, saying that "time is critical and further delays in ratifying the amendment clarifications and the legal framework can adversely affect both the current electoral timeline and ultimately the credibility of the electoral process."
Melkert called on lawmakers to work quickly to make sure necessary legislation is in place for the January elections and is said to have urged Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to pressure Shia forces and parliamentary blocs to reach an agreement.
In an attempt to reach a solution regarding the Kirkuk issue, parliament is now examining a proposal submitted by UNAMI which would give Kurds a simple majority and lesser shares to Arabs, Turkmen and Christians.
However, this proposal is not acceptable to Kurdish parliamentarians because they say that “if seats are allocated to minorities in Kirkuk, why shouldn’t Kurds be granted similar shares in other provinces where there are Kurdish minorities.”
Muhammad Khalil, a parliamentarian for the Kurdistan Alliance, said that his bloc will “demand that Baghdad, Ninawa, Diyala and Salahuddin be considered special areas if Kirkuk is.”
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