They came so close. The new Iraqi electoral law was within hours of being ratified, but at the 11th hour Tariq al Hashemi, the Sunni representative on the country's presidency council, vetoed it. This means that the work must start over, which must be incredibly frustrating to Iraqi MPs who, in a rare demonstration of selflessness, set aside sectarian interests to do something for the good of the entire nation. Mr al Hashemi will be answering some rather tough questions over the next few days, but the damage has been done and Iraq's parliament must salvage what it can from this debacle to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Mr al Hashemi has claimed that his veto was in defence of the constitution, but that is seriously in doubt. Even his right to a veto is dubious as the constitutional provisions regulating the presidency council state that all its decisions must be unanimous. This was not the case here. If anything, it appeared to be motivated by blind sectarian interest, which is all the more shameful considering the effort it took to overcome those same interests and pass the law in the first place.
Mr al Hashemi's complaint is that not enough seats in parliament are reserved for Iraqis living abroad. Instead of the 5 per cent reserved for them, he wants 15 per cent. His argument is that the new electoral law mandates one representative per 100,000 people, so 5 per cent representation would account for an exile population of just under two million. Mr Hashemi says the actual number is closer to four or five million. How he knows this, he does not say. But given that the overwhelming majority of Iraqi exiles are Sunnis, the temptation is to believe this his veto and call for more seats is driven by selfish desire to boost the flagging appeal of his party, the Iraqi Islamic Party.
document.write('');
The party lost ground to other Sunni groups in the provincial elections, and the trend looks to continue into January's parliamentary elections. This is a last ditch effort to salvage a party with an appeal that is fading nationally, and among its own support base. Iraq may yet pass a law in time to meet the end-of-January deadline for elections mandated under the constitution. But it will have to be done by a deeply divided parliament. It barely passed the first time, and there is no guarantee it will pass again. But then, the Iraqi MPs answered the call the first time; perhaps they will do so again.
Iraq could feasibly hold an election without a new electoral law, but this would not be advisable. The Iraqi Supreme Court has declared the law unconstitutional; the influential Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has said he may call for a boycott if the law is not amended; and the UN has stated that it cannot declare the election free and fair unless the changes are implemented. There is not much room for delay. The electoral commission needs 60 days to prepare for elections, giving parliament barely a week to draft a new law. The longer Iraq waits to pass this law, the more dangerous their delay becomes.
Send to friend
Week in review: Al Qa'eda denounced by Libyan group
Read the newspaper as it was printed
Send us your stories and pictures
document.write(''); One man’s stand against democracy
Last Updated: November 20. 2009 12:11AM UAE / November 19. 2009 8:11PM GMT
They came so close. The new Iraqi electoral law was within hours of being ratified, but at the 11th hour Tariq al Hashemi, the Sunni representative on the country's presidency council, vetoed it. This means that the work must start over, which must be incredibly frustrating to Iraqi MPs who, in a rare demonstration of selflessness, set aside sectarian interests to do something for the good of the entire nation. Mr al Hashemi will be answering some rather tough questions over the next few days, but the damage has been done and Iraq's parliament must salvage what it can from this debacle to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Mr al Hashemi has claimed that his veto was in defence of the constitution, but that is seriously in doubt. Even his right to a veto is dubious as the constitutional provisions regulating the presidency council state that all its decisions must be unanimous. This was not the case here. If anything, it appeared to be motivated by blind sectarian interest, which is all the more shameful considering the effort it took to overcome those same interests and pass the law in the first place.
Mr al Hashemi's complaint is that not enough seats in parliament are reserved for Iraqis living abroad. Instead of the 5 per cent reserved for them, he wants 15 per cent. His argument is that the new electoral law mandates one representative per 100,000 people, so 5 per cent representation would account for an exile population of just under two million. Mr Hashemi says the actual number is closer to four or five million. How he knows this, he does not say. But given that the overwhelming majority of Iraqi exiles are Sunnis, the temptation is to believe this his veto and call for more seats is driven by selfish desire to boost the flagging appeal of his party, the Iraqi Islamic Party.
document.write('');
The party lost ground to other Sunni groups in the provincial elections, and the trend looks to continue into January's parliamentary elections. This is a last ditch effort to salvage a party with an appeal that is fading nationally, and among its own support base. Iraq may yet pass a law in time to meet the end-of-January deadline for elections mandated under the constitution. But it will have to be done by a deeply divided parliament. It barely passed the first time, and there is no guarantee it will pass again. But then, the Iraqi MPs answered the call the first time; perhaps they will do so again.
Iraq could feasibly hold an election without a new electoral law, but this would not be advisable. The Iraqi Supreme Court has declared the law unconstitutional; the influential Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has said he may call for a boycott if the law is not amended; and the UN has stated that it cannot declare the election free and fair unless the changes are implemented. There is not much room for delay. The electoral commission needs 60 days to prepare for elections, giving parliament barely a week to draft a new law. The longer Iraq waits to pass this law, the more dangerous their delay becomes.
Send to friend Print var addthis_pub="noahkhan"; var addthis_brand = "The National"; var addthis_logo = "http://www.thenational.ae/images/the_national_logo.gif"; var addthis_logo_color = "3261A5"; Bookmark & Share function storeCaret(textEl) { if (textEl.createTextRange) textEl.caretPos = document.selection.createRange().duplicate(); } if ((document.all) && (navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Opera')== -1)) { IE = true; } else { IE = false; } function doSubmitMessage(aFormId,aUrl){ aForumForm = aFormId; aCreateUrl = aUrl+"&omniture=0"; aForumMessageUrl = ''; aAjaxDiv = document.getElementById("cpost"); processForum(aAjaxDiv); }
Have your say
Please log in to post a comment try { if (document.getElementById("_userEmail").innerHTML = '') { document.newmessageform.Body.disabled=true; document.newmessageform.post.disabled = true; } } catch(e) { document.newmessageform.Body.disabled = true; document.newmessageform.post.disabled = true; } See also Iraqi exiles praise vice president's election law veto Other Opinion stories A state for all its citizens, not a state of all the Jews No more room for Arab silence on land grab Brash timing for Israeli settlement expansion An opportunity for all business entrepreneurs One man's stand against democracy We waste food, we overeat, while so many starve document.write(''); Top stories UAE source of counterfeit exports Scheme to assist expatriate start-ups Black boxes fail to shed any light on plane crash With a tainted image, Karzai takes oath Shoppers queue for debut of Jimmy Choo Pacquiao receives hero's welcome Fisher fails to close the gap Your View Did you know Salem Saad? Tell us your favourite memory or leave a dedication.What are you looking forward to seeing at the Dubai Air Show?Who do you think should have priority for a Swine Flu vaccination?Should Abu Dhabi build its own recycling plant or send its recyclable material elsewhere?Now that there are more openings at international schools have you reconsidered where your children are enrolled? Most popular stories Most read Most e-mailed Shoppers queue for debut of Jimmy Choo Black boxes fail to shed any light on plane crash Scheme to assist expatriate start-ups UAE source of counterfeit exports Week in review: Al Qa'eda denounced by Libyan group With a tainted image, Karzai takes oath Pacquiao receives hero's welcome Still Bourne Policeman 'spoke to Kerry after she vanished' A state for all its citizens, not a state of all the Jews Potentially dangerous medicines withdrawn from sale Aabar shifts to New York for its latest acquisition 'Rain of light' for Louvre Abu Dhabi Death knell drones for al Qa'eda Speedy justice for the capital Artwork in progress Local women up in arms over Dubai doctor's talk with Oprah Loss-making Arab satellite TV 'pushes political agendas' Christian church site to get Royal help Three pay Dh5m blood money to avoid death penalty var countries=new ddtabcontent("countrytabs") countries.setpersist(true) countries.setselectedClassTarget("link") //"link" or "linkparent" countries.init() Products & Services Your View e-polls e-Paper RSS Feeds Home UAE World Business Sport About us Contact us Terms & Conditions FAQ Site map
© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC.
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-4452332-2"); pageTracker._initData(); pageTracker._trackPageview(); //-1?'https:':'http:') +unescape('//me.effectivemeasure.net/em.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E')); //]]> var doLoad = true; if (doLoad) { updatePollMini(); } s.Account="saxotechthenational" s.cookieDomainPeriods="2" s.pageName="Opinion,One mans stand against democracy:20091120:711199944" s.server="S260608AT1VW924" s.channel="Opinion" /* Traffic Variables */ s.prop1="Story" /* E-commerce Variables */ s.events="event3" s.products="Poll;What should be the first priority of the Sharjah infrastructure? expenditure?/What should be the first priority of the Sharjah infrastructure expenditure?" /* Hierarchy Variables */ s.hier1="Opinion,One mans stand against democracy:20091120:711199944" /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/ var s_code=s.t(); if(s_code)document.write(s_code)
They came so close. The new Iraqi electoral law was within hours of being ratified, but at the 11th hour Tariq al Hashemi, the Sunni representative on the country's presidency council, vetoed it. This means that the work must start over, which must be incredibly frustrating to Iraqi MPs who, in a rare demonstration of selflessness, set aside sectarian interests to do something for the good of the entire nation. Mr al Hashemi will be answering some rather tough questions over the next few days, but the damage has been done and Iraq's parliament must salvage what it can from this debacle to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Mr al Hashemi has claimed that his veto was in defence of the constitution, but that is seriously in doubt. Even his right to a veto is dubious as the constitutional provisions regulating the presidency council state that all its decisions must be unanimous. This was not the case here. If anything, it appeared to be motivated by blind sectarian interest, which is all the more shameful considering the effort it took to overcome those same interests and pass the law in the first place.
Mr al Hashemi's complaint is that not enough seats in parliament are reserved for Iraqis living abroad. Instead of the 5 per cent reserved for them, he wants 15 per cent. His argument is that the new electoral law mandates one representative per 100,000 people, so 5 per cent representation would account for an exile population of just under two million. Mr Hashemi says the actual number is closer to four or five million. How he knows this, he does not say. But given that the overwhelming majority of Iraqi exiles are Sunnis, the temptation is to believe this his veto and call for more seats is driven by selfish desire to boost the flagging appeal of his party, the Iraqi Islamic Party.
The party lost ground to other Sunni groups in the provincial elections, and the trend looks to continue into January's parliamentary elections. This is a last ditch effort to salvage a party with an appeal that is fading nationally, and among its own support base. Iraq may yet pass a law in time to meet the end-of-January deadline for elections mandated under the constitution. But it will have to be done by a deeply divided parliament. It barely passed the first time, and there is no guarantee it will pass again. But then, the Iraqi MPs answered the call the first time; perhaps they will do so again.
Iraq could feasibly hold an election without a new electoral law, but this would not be advisable. The Iraqi Supreme Court has declared the law unconstitutional; the influential Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has said he may call for a boycott if the law is not amended; and the UN has stated that it cannot declare the election free and fair unless the changes are implemented. There is not much room for delay. The electoral commission needs 60 days to prepare for elections, giving parliament barely a week to draft a new law. The longer Iraq waits to pass this law, the more dangerous their delay becomes.
Have your say
Top stories UAE source of counterfeit exports Scheme to assist expatriate start-ups Black boxes fail to shed any light on plane crash With a tainted image, Karzai takes oath Shoppers queue for debut of Jimmy Choo Pacquiao receives hero's welcome Fisher fails to close the gap Your View Did you know Salem Saad? Tell us your favourite memory or leave a dedication.What are you looking forward to seeing at the Dubai Air Show?Who do you think should have priority for a Swine Flu vaccination?Should Abu Dhabi build its own recycling plant or send its recyclable material elsewhere?Now that there are more openings at international schools have you reconsidered where your children are enrolled? Most popular stories Most read Most e-mailed Shoppers queue for debut of Jimmy Choo Black boxes fail to shed any light on plane crash Scheme to assist expatriate start-ups UAE source of counterfeit exports Week in review: Al Qa'eda denounced by Libyan group With a tainted image, Karzai takes oath Pacquiao receives hero's welcome Still Bourne Policeman 'spoke to Kerry after she vanished' A state for all its citizens, not a state of all the Jews Potentially dangerous medicines withdrawn from sale Aabar shifts to New York for its latest acquisition 'Rain of light' for Louvre Abu Dhabi Death knell drones for al Qa'eda Speedy justice for the capital Artwork in progress Local women up in arms over Dubai doctor's talk with Oprah Loss-making Arab satellite TV 'pushes political agendas' Christian church site to get Royal help Three pay Dh5m blood money to avoid death penalty var countries=new ddtabcontent("countrytabs") countries.setpersist(true) countries.setselectedClassTarget("link") //"link" or "linkparent" countries.init() Products & Services Your View e-polls e-Paper RSS Feeds Home UAE World Business Sport About us Contact us Terms & Conditions FAQ Site map
© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC.
var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-4452332-2"); pageTracker._initData(); pageTracker._trackPageview(); //-1?'https:':'http:') +unescape('//me.effectivemeasure.net/em.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E')); //]]> var doLoad = true; if (doLoad) { updatePollMini(); } s.Account="saxotechthenational" s.cookieDomainPeriods="2" s.pageName="Opinion,One mans stand against democracy:20091120:711199944" s.server="S260608AT1VW924" s.channel="Opinion" /* Traffic Variables */ s.prop1="Story" /* E-commerce Variables */ s.events="event3" s.products="Poll;What should be the first priority of the Sharjah infrastructure? expenditure?/What should be the first priority of the Sharjah infrastructure expenditure?" /* Hierarchy Variables */ s.hier1="Opinion,One mans stand against democracy:20091120:711199944" /************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/ var s_code=s.t(); if(s_code)document.write(s_code)
Read Full Article »