Iraqi CP to contest parliamentary elections under Civil Democratic Alliance

Iraqi Communist Party to contest parliamentary elections under the Civil Democratic Alliance

The Iraqi Communist Party announced on 9 December that it will be contesting the forthcoming parliamentary elections in April 2014 within the Civil Democratic Alliance. It pointed out that some political blocs have failed with their sectarian plans and are now attempting to take part in the elections under  the guise of a “civil democratic” program. 

Jassim al-Hilfi, member of the party’s Political Bureau, said in a statement published by “Tareeq Al-Shaab” (People’s Path), Iraqi CP’s daily newspaper, that the party “remains part of the Democratic Current which took part In the provincial elections earlier this year and won 11 seats.” He confirmed that the “Communist Party will contest the parliamentary elections in April 2014 as part of the Civil Democratic Alliance, against blocs whose sectarian plans have failed are trying once again to take part in the elections under a civil democratic cover, but the essence of their thought is sectarian.”

He said that the Civil Democratic Alliance include the forces of the Democratic Current (such as the Communist Party, National Democratic Part, Arab Socialist Movement, Democratic Action Party, Umma Party) as well as the People’s Party, several other forces and independent figures. “These democratic politicians have not been tarnished by corruption and shedding the blood of Iraqis, and are known for their integrity, competence and support for the ci,vil democratic alternative.  

Raid Fahmi, member of the Political Bureau of the Iraqi Communist Party, told “Shafaq News” agency that the Civil Democratic Alliance is expected to do well in provinces in southern Iraq, including Basrah, Thi Qar and Muthanna, as well as Baghdad, as it did in the provincial elections.

The Communist Party had launched its 80^th anniversary celebrations last October in the city of Nasseriyah (in southern Iraq) which had witnessed its beginnings. The party was founded on 31 March 1934. The program of the 80^th anniversary celebrations includes many political and cultural events in Baghdad and all over Iraq that will continue well into 2014.

Central Committee of Iraqi CP holds regular meeting

The Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party Holds its Regular Meeting

The Central Commission of the Iraqi Communist Party held its regular meeting on Friday 8 November 2013, in Baghdad. The meeting coincided with the start of the celebrations of party’s 80^th anniversary. With a sense of great pride and inspired by the rich significance and implications of this anniversary, the meeting stressed the need to celebrate it and highlight the role of the party at present and in future. It decided to issue a declaration on this occasion that is dear to the hearts of Iraqi patriots and communists.

The meeting began with a minute of silence in memory of the comrades and friends who passed away during the past few months, and for the martyrs of our people and the victims of terrorism and its crimes.

The meeting discussed a report on the work and performance of the party, its leading bodies, organizations and specialized committees. It considered the conferences of the party’s provincial committees that have just been accomplished and unanimously endorsed their outcome. It highly evaluated the successes that have been achieved by communists’ relentless work and enthusiasm, and the development of organizations, enhancing their role, dealing with loopholes and shortcomings, and improving their performance. The meeting called for strengthening ties with the people, taking up their demands, defending them and standing with them to seize their rights. It called for urging and encouraging the people to take part effectively in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, and to cast their votes for the better, honest and capable candidates despite the shortcomings in the new election law. The meeting considered this to be a big challenge facing the civil and democratic parties and forces. It should be an incentive to mobilize forces, ensure their coordination and cooperation, and build their broad democratic civil alliance in order to gain seats in Parliament and transform it into an additional platform for defending the rights of the masses, serving the people and defending their interests and the supreme interests of the homeland.

The meeting considered the political developments in the country and the general crisis which is grinding it and increasing the suffering of the people and their legitimate concern for the future. The participants dealt with the manifestations of the crisis and its multi-faceted consequences, especially the increasing scale of terrorists’ operations in recent times, with their intensification and extensive range, and the frantic efforts to stir up sectarian strife and fuel its flames.

The meeting stressed the country’s urgent need for serious reforms that would lead to a change in approach, mentality and performance, and opens the way for rebuilding the political process on a sound basis, getting rid of the sectarian-ethnic power-sharing system, preserving the unity of the country and averting the pitfalls of division and internal strife, leading to the establishment of a democratic civil state and social justice.

The meeting also considered the developments in the region, and in the world. It saluted with pride the successes of peoples and their patriotic, democratic and Left forces in building their regimes in accordance with their will, and the establishment of societies enjoying development, progress, justice and democracy.

An extensive statement from the meeting will be issued soon.

Iraqi CP supports call for vote recount

People’s Unity electoral list demands

a recount of votes

Election results continue to impact the overall Iraqi political scene, especially after the announcement of [preliminary] election results, despite calls for a postponement and for a manual recount of the votes, wholly or partially, due to the existence of large-scale fraud and manipulation.

The Secretary of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, Hamid Majeed Mousa, stressed that the election results announced by the Higher Electoral Commission last Friday evening (26th March) are preliminary results, and the candidates still have an opportunity to present their objections.

This comes at a time when the deadline for the submission of appeals is Monday 29th March, according to the Electoral Commission.

In a statement to “Iraq Beituna Agency”, Mousa said that People’s Unity (“Ittihad Al-Shaab”) list has a lot of objections regarding the fairness and integrity of these elections,” asserting “our determination to present our point of view and objections of the list to the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court, and calling for a recount in many provinces.”

Mousa pointed out that “the parliamentary elections were marred by a lot of manipulation and lack of integrity in all its stages, which has been reflected negatively on the share of votes of many lists.”

For his part, Mufid al-Jazairy, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party, said: “The electoral process has witnessed many forms of manipulation and fraud,” and “totally lacked transparency”. He added that the election results “would have certainly changed if an end was put to this fraud.”
Al-Jazairy explained to “Voices of Iraq” news agency that “in every stage of the electoral process, especially in the stages of vote sorting and counting, and in entering data in computers, there were many types of manipulation”.

Raid Fahmi, member of the Political Bureau of the Party, held the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Law responsible for the negative repercussions that have occurred in the elections and the resulting injustice and violations of the rights of voters.
Fahmi told the Iraqi National News Agency that “the election law was totally unfair and we raised objections to it from the beginning. Under this law, votes belonging to our list were given to others.”
He added: “The Electoral Commission has contributed to the loss of our votes because of its incompetence, in addition to violations and fraud that took place on the polling day and afterwards. There was room for manipulation of the election results.”

Report published on Iraqi CP’s website on 27th March 2010

Iraqi CP – Interview about recent Iraqi Elections

Iraqi CP – Interview about recent Iraqi Elections

Interview with comrade Salam Ali, member of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, on the recent Iraqi Elections
Published by “Nameh Mardom, the official organ of the Tudeh Party – Iran (15th March 2010)

Q1. What do you think about the new election laws and increased number of MP's? Apart from preventing the Baathist electoral candidacy, has the “Iraq's Accountability and Justice Commission” imposed any other restrictions on political parties or individuals participating in this election?

The amendments to election law that were passed by dominant forces in parliament on 9 November 2009 were totally undemocratic and constituted a gross violation of the rights of the Iraqi electorate. Articles 1 and 3 of this law, in particular, were designed to maintain the hegemony and control of political power by the ruling political forces and perpetuate the infamous sectarian power sharing system.
This will mean a repetition of the experience in the provincial elections that took place in January 2009, when the “big blocs” stole the votes of more than two and a quarter million people who had given their votes to other “smaller” lists. The same electoral ploy will be used by these same blocs to grab additional seats in the parliament.
The number of MPs has been increased to 325 (compared with 275) in the new parliament, based on an estimated increase of the population to about 32 million during the past 4 years. This highlights one fundamental loophole in the election process, caused by the lack of a proper electoral register based on a population census. Such a census should have taken place by the end of 2009, but was eventually postponed. The electoral register inside Iraq is therefore based on data of the food ration distribution system, which is fraught with errors and open to manipulation. For voters outside Iraq, there is no electoral register (with the eligible electorate estimated at about 1.25 million), thus requiring people to register (according to new arbitrary conditions announced by the Electoral Commission) and vote at the same time.
The measures taken by the “Accountability and Justice Commission”, to exclude candidates who had held senior positions in Saddam’s Baath party and the security organs of the ousted regime, caused a lot of controversy. This is due to the fact that the so-called process of “de-Baathification” (that preceded the promulgation of the Accountability and Justice Law in parliament in early 2008) had been politicized by the ruling Islamic groups. The net outcome of the measures taken on the eve of election was to deepen sectarian polarization, thus playing into the hands of both competing “big” blocs. It was exploited fully by their political leaders to stir up fears among their constituencies and thereby mobilize them once again along sectarian lines. This has exposed, in practice, the true sectarian colours of these forces and their hollow claims of abandoning sectarian positions and adopting a non-sectarian national democratic programme.

Q2. Nearly 300 political parties and groups have formed into 12 blocks competing for 325 parliamentary seats. Is this a sign of weakness and political division? Or does it point to a growing political maturity in Iraq’s politics that recognises the importance of united action?

The most important development since the previous elections is the realignment of forces and the break-up of big political Islamic blocs (both Shiite and Sunni). Some groups within the camp of political Islam had to abandon their openly sectarian position and adopt a national discourse, with some borrowing slogans of democratic forces (e.g. Maleki’s State of Law slate that calls for building “a democratic modern civil state based on institutions and law …etc”.). The defeat of the Supreme Islamic Assembly in the provincial elections in 2009 also forced its coalition (the Iraqi National Alliance) to attempt to change its image, by enticing a few liberal elements to join its candidates in return for promises of seats in the new parliament.
Many small groups decided, following their bitter experience in previous national and provincial elections, to join bigger blocs with the hope of getting into the parliament. The new election law, which was designed to marginalize and effectively eliminate small political entities, also contributed to this process. While the reduction of the number of entities contesting the elections may be seen as a sign of growing maturity in Iraq’s politics, the manipulation of the electoral system to perpetuate the continued hegemony of “big blocs” and control of political power is, however, a very dangerous development that could have grave consequences for the democratic future of Iraq. The current exceptional and transitional stage which Iraq is going through requires political diversity rather than policies of exclusion and political hegemony.

Q3. What is the reaction in Iraq and in particular among the religious groupings regarding the allocation of 25% quota for women which has resulted in 1813 out of approximately 6200 candidates being women?

The 25% quota for women in parliament was endorsed once again in parliament without any real opposition, and despite the poor performance of the many women MPs, especially those belonging to religious parties, during the past 4 years. Women’s organisations and activists campaigned to ensure that this quota system is adhered to in the new “open list” system adopted for the recent elections.
It is important to note that women’s participation in the elections was quite evident and characterised by enthusiasm. This is an indication of growing social and political consciousness in society, in addition to a growing awareness among women of the importance of their role in society, for achieving their rights and enjoying equal opportunities with men.

Q4. ICP is part of the People’s Unity list; what are the key socio-economic components of the People’s Unity’s programme?

The People’s Unity list adopted a detailed programme that included socio-economic and developmental goals. A brief version of this programme was widely distributed during the election campaign. Here are some key points:
Social goals:
- Enactment of a new Personal Status Law to ensure the abolition of all forms of discrimination against women, respect for their rights and empowering them politically, economically and socially, and providing conditions to ensure their participation in public life.
- Attention to the internally displaced and migrants who were forced to leave their homes due to terrorism and sectarian violence. And to eliminate the legacy of criminal campaigns against the Faili Kurds.
- To embrace culture and arts, ensuring their flourishing and promotion, and to reject any attempt to restrict thought and creativity and marginalize intellectuals and creative people.
- To ensure a better life for students and youth, and to provide all the prerequisites for the development of their talents and utilizing their potential.
- To respect the independence of the unions, trade unions, cultural associations and all the civil organizations, and to provide all forms of support to them, so as to enhance their role and contribution in public life, and to accelerate the enactment of a democratic law for civil society organizations.
Economic and developmental goals:
- Work to achieve sustainable economic-social development, infrastructure development, and restructuring the economy to develop and modernize the productive commodity and services sectors and provide the prerequisites for scientific and technological progress.
- To protect national wealth, especially oil, and to rely primarily on direct national investment in its exploitation and management. To employ these resources in the development of the national economy and achieving social justice. And to regulate the management of the hydrocarbon sector and accelerate the promulgation of the Oil and Gas Law.
- To provide government support to the public, private, cooperative and joint economic sectors, and to give priority to these national sectors in tenders, contracts and investment.
- To rehabilitate the factories and industrial installations of the various productive sectors.
- To activate the process of reconstruction and give priority to the disadvantaged and damaged regions.
- To pursue a prudent investment policy by encouraging investment and attracting national and foreign funds to contribute to development and reconstruction.
- To accelerate the rehabilitation of the electricity sector.
- Paying attention to the agricultural sector and bringing it up to self-sufficiency, ensuring food security, paying special attention to combating desertification and drought, and ensuring that Iraq gets a fair share of water.
- Organizing the commercial sector and development of mechanisms and controls regulating the market in order to protect consumers, particularly the poor, and to ensure a good quality of goods and services.

Q5. Was the election held fairly? How was the participation of people, and how do you compare these elections to the last election or the one under the Saddam regime?

The enthusiastic participation of the people in the elections on 7th March 2010, despite criminal terrorist attacks and bombings in Baghdad and other parts of the country, and the killing of 38 innocent people, was clear evidence of the determination of the people to consolidate democratic practice through the ballot box, and to continue the fight for a fully independent and sovereign, unified, democratic and federal Iraq. The voters’ turnout, at 62.4%, was higher than that during the provincial elections in January 2009.
While stressing these positive aspects in the elections, many violations were noted by observers that included the electoral register, election campaigns, the “special voting” (for the security forces), the “media silence day” (a halt to campaigning the day before and during elections), as well as the problematic elections outside Iraq, denying tens of thousands of Iraqis their right to vote.
In addition, due to the non-existence of a law regulating political parties and their funding, there was no control over funding for election campaigns. Billions of dollars, pouring in from outside the country to influence the outcome of the elections, were spent lavishly by dominant forces, on media advertising as well as buying the support of voters.
As to comparison with elections under Saddam, the latter could not even be called elections, but rather a sham process with people being forced out to cast their votes for a single candidate, the dictator, who got over 99% of the votes.

Q6. How would the outcome of this election impact the formation of the new government, withdrawal of foreign troops and US troops in particular, and relations with neighbours in the Middle East region? Can this election affect the political dynamics of our region?

Due to the fact that none of the big electoral blocs will achieve an absolute majority, the formation of the new government will be a protracted process, with political manoeuvring to set up a ruling coalition. Any such government will have to adhere to the terms of withdrawal of American forces as stipulated in the Iraq-US security agreement (with total withdrawal by the end of 2011). The overwhelming support among the Iraqi people for ending the occupation and foreign military presence, and eliminating its legacy, is a powerful factor that would prevent any attempt to circumvent this agreement.
A lot will depend on a smooth transfer to a new government, strengthening national unity and overcoming sectarian tensions that were deliberately accentuated by some forces for their narrow political ends. This will lay the basis for embarking on reconstruction and building the institutions of a modern democratic civil state, based on the principle of citizenship, human rights and social justice. A stable, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Iraq, that enjoys good relations with all its neighbours, is essential for achieving peace and social progress for the peoples of the Middle East and the whole world.

Iraq elections will shape post-occupation direction

Iraq elections will shape post-occupation direction

People's Weekly World

by: Susan Webb
October 20 2009

With the U.S. preparing to pull combat troops out by next summer, Iraq' s upcoming national elections, scheduled for Jan. 16, will shape the country's post-occupation direction. It's a new phase, with new political and social dynamics.
Although violence continues, it is sharply down from a year ago, and support for religious sectarianism has plummeted. As a result, Iraq is seeing people coming out into the streets, and the beginnings of an upsurge of civil society organizations and protest movements.
Indicative of this trend, more than 40 organizations are working on setting up an Iraqi Social Forum, part of the World Social Forum movement involving social justice and anti-corporate groups. Women's, youth, labor, peasant and human rights groups held a meeting in Baghdad in September to launch the initiative, a first for Iraq.
Another example: a national student organization, the General Union of Students in the Iraqi Republic, held an outdoor ceremony in Baghdad's famous Abu Nuwas public gardens in September to honor outstanding high school students.
And as political jockeying threatened to delay the national elections and limit voter participation, about 50 organizations met with the speaker of Parliament to insist that elections take place as scheduled with rules that promote voter participation and choice.
Some parties trying to hold onto power have pushed to raise the voting age, make a college degree a requirement for voting, and return to a "closed list" process where voters can only vote for a slate picked by party leaders. Some have tried to stall the elections by linking them to resolution of ethnic disputes in northern Iraq.
But the Parliament is expected to approve an election law that sticks to the Jan. 16 schedule, rejects new voting restrictions and retains the "open list" process that enables voters to oust individual political hacks if they want to.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition appears headed toward another win in January, following its victory in provincial elections this winter. Maliki has accomplished this by adopting secular nationalist rhetoric, down-pedaling his leadership of the Shiite Dawa Party, as well as by his popular, tough action to shut down armed militias.
Maliki's State of Law coalition has attracted a range of Shia and Sunni politicians, tribal leaders, sections of the Awakening Councils that split off from armed insurgents, and figures representing various ethnic minorities.
He recently described his coalition as "far removed from a sectarian-based distribution of power" - a slap at his rivals in the reconfigured Shia Islamic coalition, the Iraqi National Alliance.
In fact all the Islamic groups, Shia and Sunni, have been forced to distance themselves from sectarian appeals and instead project "national" programs. But "they don't give any details, just sloganeering," commented Salam Ali, the Iraqi Communist Party's spokesperson, in a recent phone interview.
Maliki and others have borrowed slogans from the left, including talk of a civil, democratic state, but without explaining what they mean by it, Ali noted.
Many doubt Maliki's ability to bring meaningful improvement in people's daily living conditions.
"There is a big backlash against the political elite," Ali said. "People are just fed up with false promises that have not been acted upon by the leading political blocs. People have not seen any improvement in basics like electricity. Corruption is still rife. Nothing serious is being done to improve health care, education and so on."
But the problem is, "Iraq's democratic forces have yet to present themselves as a viable alternative," with a public disheartened after decades of dictatorship, war, and sectarian divisions, Ali said. Democratic and progressive sectors of Iraqi society - unions, women, students, professional and cultural workers, human rights advocates - are not yet sufficiently organized and lack the funding and media capability to reach and mobilize the masses of Iraqis, he said. They are up against powerful groups with well-funded media operations and financial backing from regional powers with their own agendas.
As a result, people who oppose empty nationalist sloganeering, religious and ethnic division, and lack of action on economic and social problems, simply don't vote, he said.
One danger is that, with the public wanting a "firm hand" against violence, if a strong and unified democratic movement does not emerge the country could return to a new dictatorship.
That is the challenge facing Iraq's left and democratic trends.
An important element in that struggle is the continuing battle for trade union rights. Unions are protesting government attempts to control the unions' internal elections. Iraq's largest labor federation, the General Federation of Iraqi Workers, issued a statement this month calling on Iraqi workers to "stand up to defend their legitimate rights."
The labor federation appealed to "the wider trade union movement, professional associations and civil society organizations" for support. It also appealed "for the solidarity support of the international trade union movement."
Although suicide bombings and similar attacks are down 80 or 90 percent from last year, they could increase as the elections approach. Iraqi analysts say groups behind the violence, including former Baathists, are using it as a bargaining chip, hoping to enlist the U.S. in their efforts to gain a political foothold: "We'll stop if you get us a share of power." Also, Iraqis charge that some of these groups are getting help from surrounding countries who want to keep Iraq in turmoil.

Iraq sets January deadline for provincial election

Iraq sets January deadline for provincial election

24 September 2008

BAGHDAD (AFP) — The Iraqi parliament finally passed a provincial election law on Wednesday, setting a January 31 deadline for a vote to allow more power to be handed to the country's divided communities.

Members of parliament agreed to a compromise that will exclude not only the disputed northern oil province of Kirkuk but also the whole of the northern Kurdistan region from the new legislation.

Kurdish factions, which lay historic claim to Kirkuk and its oil wealth, had put up the sternest resistance to earlier attempts to clear the way for provincial elections seen by the United States as a cornerstone of national reconciliation efforts after the sectarian bloodshed of recent years.

Parliament had been aiming to pass the legislation in time to hold the polls on October 1 in all 18 of Iraq's provinces but deep rifts between the Kurds and their Arab and Turkmen rivals over arrangements for the process in Kirkuk torpedoed any agreement before the summer recess.

MPs have now agreed to postpone the polls in Kirkuk and three northern provinces that already form part of the autonomous Kurdish region so that elections can be held in the other 14 provinces by January 31.

Elections in Kirkuk will not now be held until after March 2009 and the existing multi-communal council will continue to administer the province.

A committee consisting of two representatives each from its Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen communities and one from the Christian community will work to prepare the groundwork for the organisation of elections in Kirkuk.

The ousted Sunni Arab dominated regime of Saddam Hussein poured Arab settlers, both Sunni and Shiite, into the province in a bid to prevent its oil wealth falling into the hands of Kurdish rebels.

For Kurdish leaders, their insistence on Kirkuk being incorporated into their autonomous region was the main reason for their rejection of a peace deal with the Baghdad government in the early 1970s that saw them continue a rebellion in which hundreds of thousands of their people died.

Kurdish MPs have insisted that a new electoral register be compiled giving the vote only to those with a historic claim to residence in the province before elections be held in Kirkuk.

Under the terms of reference set by the new law, the new seven-member committee will report back to parliament in coordination with the United Nations by March 31 after reviewing the electoral roll with both the existing provincial council and the central government.

Passage of the compromise law by a majority of the 191 MPs present in the 275-seat assembly was immediately hailed by speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani as an acceptance by the legislature's disparate factions of the wider national interest.

"The law is what the Iraqi people wanted, and not what the politicians wanted," said Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab Islamist who has frequently been outspoken in his criticism of the US-led occupation and the boost in power it has given to Washington's Kurdish and Shiite allies.

"This law shows our determination to reach an agreement, and that we are able to solve problems in a democratic way. Kirkuk was the source of troubles, but now it became a symbol of nationalism and agreement. It has united us."

Women to get 25% quota in provincial councils

Women to get 25% quota in provincial councils

September 23, 2008

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Women will be given a quota of no less than 25 percent in provincial councils, the chairman of the regions and provinces committee said on Tuesday.

“The issue of the presidential revocation concerning women’s quota in the provincial council elections law has been settled,” Hashim al-Taa’i told Aswat al-Iraq.

Commenting on the ongoing negotiations over paragraph IV of the law, the chairman said that the issue has not been resolved thus far.

On Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament created a formula stipulating that the local government will support a fact-finding committee in Kirkuk city, which was rejected by the Tammuz (July) 22 Grouping that demanded that the central government take over the process.

Highlighting international and regional pressures to pass the provincial council elections law, Taa’i accused unnamed bodies of attempting to hinder its passage.

“The elections law is a peaceful coup that will change the provincial councils, whose members are decision makers…,” he noted.

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, 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 Abdelmahdi and 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, approved by parliament in February, has sparked heated controversy among political blocs.

The draft law on provincial council elections proposes an open slate system, which gives voters influence on the position of the candidates placed on the party list and allows an individual voting system.

Parliament’s session adjourned without approving elections law

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 09 /09 /2008

BAGHDAD, Sept. 9 (VOI) – MP from the Kurdistan Islamic Union said on Tuesday that the Parliament’s session was adjourned without approving the provincial council elections law, while Parliament’s speaker decided to hold a meeting for the heads of the parliamentary bloc for this purpose on Wednesday.
“The session was adjourned without approving the provincial council elections law and a meeting will be held tomorrow within this context among all heads of the parliamentary blocs at 11:00 a.m.,” Sami al-Atroushi told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The Iraqi government relies on the provincial council elections, which were scheduled to be held on October 1, 2008, to curb violence in the war-scarred country by including a number of armed groups in the Iraqi political process.
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, which includes an article postponing the elections in the city of Kirkuk.
Lawmakers from the Kurdistan Coalition (KC) 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.
The draft law on provincial council elections proposes an open slate system, which gives voters influence on the position of the candidates placed on the party list and allows an individual voting system.

UN official, Shiite cleric discuss UN's role in elections

UN official, Shiite cleric discuss UN's role in elections

Saturday , 06 /09 /2008
Najaf - Voices of Iraq

NAJAF, Sept. 6 (VOI) – The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq Staffan de Mistura on Saturday discussed with top Shiite Cleric Ali al-Sistani in his Najaf residence UN efforts to solve the dispute over the provincial council elections law.

"The world organization is fully prepared to help the Iraqi people express their opinion," the U.N. official said during a press conference held in front of Sistani's house on Saturday.
"This is my second visit to his Eminence Sistani and it was my honor to listen to his advice and opinions. We both examined the United Nation's role in helping the Iraqi people in the fields of elections, economic development, and to find solutions to disputed issues," de Mistura said.
The official stressed the need for holding provincial council elections on time.
"In my opinion, there is no reason for not holding elections on time," he said.
Iraqis "suffered a lot from dictatorship" and are entitled to choose their representatives through elections, he added.
The Iraqi government relies on provincial council elections, which are supposed to be held on October 1, 2008, to curb violence in the war-scarred country by including a number of armed groups in the Iraqi political process.
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, which includes an article postponing the elections in the city of Kirkuk.
Lawmakers from the Kurdistan Coalition 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.
Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad, has an estimated population of 900,600 in 2008, though this has increased significantly since 2003 due to immigration from abroad. The city is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq.
Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (also known as "Imam Ali"), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam.
The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims.
The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls.

Iraqi Women's League
Holds Plenary Meeting in Baghdad

The Executive Committee of Iraqi Women's League (IWL) held a plenary meeting in Baghdad on 29 August 2008. The meeting began with a minute in silence in respect of the memory of martyrs of the Iraqi women's movement and the Iraqi patriotic movement. A special tribute was paid to the memory of the prominent intellectual figure, Kamil Shiaa, who was assassinated by gunmen in Baghdad on 23 August 2008.

The meeting was attended by representatives of branches in Iraq's governorates. According to a communiqué issued by the meeting, the Secretary of IWL presented a report on activities since its last Congress held in March 2008, referring to the challenges facing members and women activists in their efforts to promote awareness of women and children rights.

The agenda of the meeting also included a discussion of reports from IWL branches in cities and governorates (Mosul, Diyala, Babil, Najaf, Kut, Karbala, Diwaniya, Nasseriya, Basra, Hawija), as well IWL committees in Baghdad and Syria. In addition, the meeting discussed a draft document of the organisation's inner rules, with the amendments that had been endorsed by IWL's Congress.

Special attention was given to the position of women and their role in the political process. The meeting called for:
1- Acting to combat all forms of violence to which Iraqi women are subjected, and which has recently escalated, especially in Mosul.
2- Continuing the campaigns calling for suspending Article 41 of the Iraqi Constitution (2005), and to stress the need to abide by the Personal Status Law No.188 (1959).
3- Coordination with humanitarian organisations throughout Iraq, paying greater attention to children's rights, combating all practices that are harmful to these rights, and ensuring commitment to the relevant international covenants and treaties.
4- Upholding the proportion (25% quota) allocated to women in the forthcoming elections of provincial councils.