National Assembly of Iraq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
| Iraq
|
|
Ratified constitution See also: Kurdish Autonomous Region |
The Iraqi National Assembly is the unicameral parliament of Iraq which meets in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The current assembly is an elected body of 275 seats.
History
The Assembly first formed following the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Iraq in 1953. Elections were held based on universal manhood suffrage on January 17, 1953. Following controversy over the implementation of the so-called Baghdad Pact Prime Minister Nuri Pasha as-Said called elections the following year, in early 1954. As-Said dissolved the assembly shortly thereafter and began to rule by decree, but opposition forced him to hold a third election within three years. The second 1954 election was very corrupt, with as-Said's political enemies banned from running, and widespread voter coercion. The assembly was suspended yet again, and in 1958 a military coup deposed as-Said and the monarchy, and abolished the Assembly.
In 1980, Iraq's new military president, Saddam Hussein, brought back the National Assembly. There were no elections, however, with all members being appointed from the ranks of Hussein's own Ba'ath Party. The new Assembly was largely a figurehead that would occasionally rubber stamp the president's decrees.
In 2003, Saddam was deposed by the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies in the 2003 Iraq War. In March 2004 a governing council set up by the Coalition Provisional Authority signed an interim constitution which called for the election of a transitional National Assembly no later than the end of January 2005. This Assembly would draft a permanent constitution which would then be submitted to approval by the Iraqi people in a general referendum.
Elections for this transitional National Assembly took place on January 30, 2005. The United Iraqi Alliance Party won the plurality of seats with 48% of the popular vote resulting in 140 seats. Eighty-five members of the assembly are women.
Talks between the UIA and other parties to form a coalition government began soon after the election. The assembly had its first meeting on March 16, 2005. After weeks of negotiations between the dominant political parties, on April 4, 2005, Sunni Arab Hajim al-Hassani was chosen as speaker; Shiite Hussain Shahristani and Kurd Aref Taifour were elected as his top deputies. The Assembly elected Jalal Talabani to head the Presidency Council on April 6, and approved the selection of Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his cabinet on April 28.
Possible Legislature under the New Constitution
The Permanant Constitution may include a bicameral legislative body. The entire body would be known as the Parliament of Iraq. In this case the legislature could consist of the following:
House of Deputies: This would consist of 275 members known as 'Members of Parliament' elected nation wide in the existing National Assembly constituencies. The Speaker will be elected by the House.
Senate: This would give equal representation to the ethnicities in Iraq. The members would be known as 'senators'. The Senate shall have an equal number of senators from Sunni Senatorial Districts, Kurdish Senatorial Districts and Shia Senatorial Districts. There shall be 50 senators from each division, thus a total of 150 senators. The President of the Senate will be a Vice President in the Presidency Council chosen by the President.
The Senate will produce three sets of nominations for the Presidency Council and the House of Deputies shall vote on which nomination to elect. The House will have supremacy in financial matters in which the Senate cannot defeat a bill passed by the House and may only delay and propose amendments for 30 days. In other matters the Senate has delaying power of 2 years. The Senate alone can confirm treaties and appointments to federal agencies and departments, high ranking military positions and Justices of the Supreme Court.
