House of Representatives Meets concerning EL

House of Representatives Meets
November 21, 2009


House of Representatives Meets to Vote on a veto-Hashimi Today

Talabani calls on parliamentarians to discuss the objections in an objective manner ...


بغداد - الصباح BAGHDAD - morning

With the intention of the House of Representatives vote to repeal the law on elections, he called President Jalal Talabani to discuss the veto by Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Kurdish demands for the distribution of seats among the provinces, an objective manner.

This call coincides with varying political views on clarifying statement of the Federal Court at the denunciation of al-Hashemi.

President Jalal Talabani urged parliamentary blocs in the House to discuss the veto-Hashemi in an objective, in addition to discussing the points raised and raised by the Kurdistan Alliance in the terms of the proportion of provincial representation.
The head of the republic in comments broadcast station (France 24) and radio (RFI) before the end of a visit to Paris yesterday: "Iraq is on the verge of an important and crucial elections determine the future of Iraq, hoping that after the veto election law by al-Hashemi, to discuss the House of Representatives in substantive points raised, in addition to reservations the Kurdistan Alliance in terms of the proportion of provincial representation. "

And security concerns could lead to the postponement of the election, "Talabani said the" security concerns do not postpone the elections, the security concern of affect in the presence of people in peaceful elections, but will not prevent the elections. "

The head of the House of Representatives, Dr. Iyad al-Samarrai announced an agreement to hold a meeting on Saturday to vote to repeal the law of elections, whether or revocation of acceptance.

It is said that Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi has been set aside the law amending the election law last Wednesday because of the article on the allocation of seats on the displaced outside Iraq.

Hashemi expressed his optimism in the elections
schedule, said in a statement received "morning," a copy of it: "The Parliament will prove its worth in the study of the first article of the electoral law and the Iraqi people Siahdi election in the same gift of an Iraqi national." He praised the role of the House of Representatives, saying he "aware that the parliament on the high degree of care to ensure the rights of Iraq put his foot anywhere on the map and reiterated that the Parliament will strive to maintain in the coming days before the election." The leaders of parliamentary blocs, who met yesterday to discuss the veto-Hashimi did not reach a consensus Madfhm to resort to a vote at today's meeting, as the United Iraqi Alliance, rejected the veto, while the split consensus on it, while the Kurdistan Alliance is still studying the issue, according to the statements of the number of members of these blocks.

In Erbil, said the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Dr. Barham Saleh said the new electoral law is in a "danger".

He also called for in a press statement to address the imbalance in the law "of the Ministry of Commerce on the records of voters," which he described as "dark against the Kurdish people", again in the same time, the Kurds threatened to boycott the elections in "the event is not responding to their demands".

In another window, varied attitudes about the political illustration, announced the Federal Court on the eligibility of Vice President to veto the election law.

For his part, the legal expert Tareq war that the Constitutional Court's decisions are binding on all the Iraqi authorities.

He said the war in a press statement that: "Article 94 of the Constitution establishes that every issue of the Constitutional Court decisions shall be binding and implementation, not an opinion could take it or leave it.

In turn, stressed the special advisory Balhashimi and tasked with examining and analyzing the text of the book the Federal Court to the Council of Representatives and the reverse relating to the constitutionality of the Vice-President of the first article of the electoral law, insisted that "the Federal Court decision was not outside the veto, but al-Hashemi was in line with the principles spelled out in the veto The investigator for the presentation of an amendment on the legitimacy of voting abroad are eligible voters who chose their voices just like home. "

In the same file, it was revealed the Information Office of the Vice-President of the Republic, the delegation he sent to al-Hashemi Najaf recently carried a letter to the religious authority Ali al-Sistani is consulted by the veto on the decision of the electoral law.

And the office said in a statement received "morning," a copy of it, that "al-Hashemi has not forgotten the role of the Auditor and the importance of bones in their minds of the Iraqi street, has sent a delegation loaded with a message to Mr. Sistani consulted about the decision to overturn the law that falls the value of sound Iraqi election," he said: " What was the reclusive cleric, but emphasize the importance of the voices of all Iraqis, and that all Iraqis are equal in their rights, and stressed that the decision to be made by Hashemi must take into account the right of all Iraqis, and so he did. "

Internationally, "said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: it" has taken note of the decision set aside the electoral law which may lead to postpone the date for legislative elections, "but he expressed the hope to remove this obstacle quickly.

For its part, expressed the U.S. State Department disappointed the White House after the veto to the election law made by al-Hashemi.
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kracker find:

Iraq struggles over election law dispute

Published Date: November 21, 2009

BAGHDAD: Iraqi lawmakers will vote today on how to break a deadlock over a key election law after a vice president vetoed the legislation, causing a crisis that could delay a national vote scheduled for January and affect the timetable for an American troop withdrawal. Iraq's fractious parliament was looking at two options _ sending the same law back to the three-member presidency council, where it is likely to be vetoed again _ or amending the law to address the concerns of Vice President Tariq al-Hashem
i.


Under the constitution, parliament can override a second veto with a three-fifths majority, thereby passing a law seen as vital to Iraq's ability to move toward full sovereignty and political stability after years of bloodshed.
Al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, wants the law to allocate more seats to Iraqis living abroad, many of whom are Sunnis who fled the war. The devastating attacks that were so routine in Iraq have become far less common, but al-Hashemi's objections reflect how hard it is for Iraq's ethnic and sectarian factions to reconcile.


Speaker Ayad Al-Samarie said Thursday that political blocs agreed to vote after failing to craft an immediate solution to the vice president's demand. Al-Hashemi's veto was welcomed by supporters as a legal right and by opponents as an attack on Iraq's fledgling democracy. "Basically, we did not find any proposal that enjoys agreement," Al-Samarie said. "So it was decided to resort to voting on the veto of the presidency." The 275-seat parliament could muster the numbers necessary to override a second vet
o if most Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers choose to do so, but that outcome would fail to ease the sense of alienation of many Sunni Arabs. The Sunni Arab minority dominated Iraq until a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and boycotted elections in January 2005 ahead of the run-up to the most vicious sectarian violence of the war. A Shiite-led government now runs the country.


Earlier this week, Kurdish leaders threatened to boycott the 2010 election unless the three northern provinces they control are given more seats in the next parliament, which will have 323 seats. They were mostly quiet Thursday, possibly assessing the veto dispute and how they can promote their own agenda.
A return to the intense violence of a couple of years ago is unlikely, and the US military believes it can stick to its timetable of withdrawing all US combat troops by the end of August 2010, and the rest of its personnel by the end of 2011.


Still, US military officials have said they will begin to draw down combat forces about 60 days after the election, and the possibility of a vote delay could compel commanders to reassess the plan just as Washington is pondering a buildup of forces in Afghanistan. Iraq's political and legal institutions buzzed with debate and some confusion on Thursday, a day after Al-Hashemi's veto. The Supreme Federal Court cited the constitution as saying all Iraqis, whether they live in the country or outside its borders, should be represented in the parliament.


Some lawmakers interpreted the court's statement as a conclusion that al-Hashemi's veto was unconstitutional, while those in the vice president's camp said the opposite. Iraq's electoral commission said it has suspended preparations for the vote, which the constitution says should be held by the end of January. With time running out, legislators who spent weeks haggling over the election law _ only to see it vetoed _ boiled with frustration. "The atmosphere prevailing in today's meetings was one where dis
putes went back to the way they were when we first discussed the draft law," said Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite lawmaker.


Also Thursday, an Iraqi court sentenced the leader of a government-allied paramilitary group to death for murder and kidnapping. The arrest of Adel al-Mashhadani in March set off a two-day battle in Baghdad pitting US and Iraqi forces against militiamen in al-Mashhadani's group, which comprised Sunnis who abandoned the insurgency and joined the Americans in the fight against Al-Qaida. At least four people died.


Justice Ministry spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said Al-Mashhadani can appeal the sentence. The case highlighted tensions between the Shiite-led government and Awakening Council groups such as the one run by al-Mashhadani, who was prosecuted for bombings and links to Al-Qaida in Iraq. Those tensions have eased with a sharp drop in violence and US-backed efforts to incorporate the groups into state programs. --- AP