Communiqué

of the 9^th National Congress of the Iraqi Communist Party

(8-13 May 2012)

The Iraqi Communist Party held its 9^th National Congress during the period 8-13 May 2012, in Baghdad and Shaqlawa, under the slogan: “A Federal Democratic Civil State.. Social Justice”. The opening session took place on 8^th May in Baghdad, with a big official and popular representation.

Comrade Hameed Majid Mousa, the Secretary of the Central Committee, delivered a speech at the opening session in which he stressed the determination of Iraqi communists to continue the struggle for the good of the people and the homeland, and to march forward on the path of building a modern democratic civil state; a fully sovereign and independent state that is based on institutions and the rule of law. He expressed the determination of the party to achieve its goals that are embodied in its well-known slogan: “For a Free Homeland and a Happy People", and also to rid the political process of its difficulties and crises, in order to achieve the desired objectives.

The Congress received numerous messages of greeting from Iraq, Arab countries and all over the world, and from fraternal communist and workers parties and friendly organizations. The messages praised the role of the party in Iraq's modern history and in the present time, and its enormous sacrifices and feats.

In the first working session (held in the town of Shaqlawa, in Iraqi Kurdistan on 10^th May 2012), the secretary of the Central Committee wished the Congress and delegates success in their work, and called for exerting greater efforts and consistent work to build a broad mass movement to achieve a stable and secure new Iraq that guarantees the principle of citizenship and that is free of the infamous sectarian-ethnic power-sharing system.

The Congress then elected its chair committee and other bodies: the accreditation committee, the commission of the political report, the party program committee, the inner rules committee, the audit committee, and the nominations and appeals committee. The agenda of the Congress was endorsed and delegates attended four workshops to discuss the main documents: the political report, the draft party program, the draft inner rules, and the organizational report.

After extensive discussions of the draft documents, the workshops submitted their reports to plenary sessions of the Congress where they were discussed and voted upon. This process was conducted in an atmosphere of transparency, democracy and the free exchange of views. The Congress then moved on to discuss and endorse the financial report, after being passed by the audit committee.

The Congress also approved a number of resolutions and recommendations, and sent several messages of appreciation, including messages to the Presidency of the Republic, the Presidency of the Kurdistan region, and to various parties, organizations, institutions and figures that attended the opening session in Baghdad, or contributed to facilitating the success of the Congress.

On the last day of the Congress, nominations began for the new Central Committee and the Control Commission. In a spirit of enthusiasm and high sense of responsibility, tens of comrades volunteered to work in both committees. After approving the report of the nominations and appeals committee, the Congress elected, by secret ballot, members of the party’s new Central Committee and the Central Control Commission.

The 9^th National Congress concluded its work in a joyful atmosphere, celebrating its successful outcome with revolutionary songs, and reaffirming the determination to continue the struggle for social progress in a state that upholds the principle of citizenship and respects human rights and personal and public freedoms and public; a modern federal democratic civil state.

The new Central Committee held a full meeting in which it elected Comrade Hameed Majid Mousa as its secretary, and also elected its Political Bureau.