All Topics  
National Assembly of Iraq

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

National Assembly of Iraq
 
 
  Topics National Assembly of Iraq Topic Home

The Council of Representatives of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 ( Majlis an-Nuwwab al-?Iraqiyy) is the main elected body of representatives in Iraq. It is currently composed of 275 seats and meets in Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 inside the International Zone
International zone

An international zone is a type of extraterritoriality governed by international law, or similar treaty between two or more nations. They can be found within international airports and can contain duty free shopping....
 (Green Zone
Green Zone

The Green Zone is the common name for the International Zone of Iraq— a 10-square-kilometer area in central Baghdad that was the center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city....
). It is governed by bylaws that can be found

lected Iraqi parliament first formed following the establishment of a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of constitutional government, where in either an elected or hereditary monarch is the head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy, wherein the king or the queen is the sole source of political power, as he or she is not legally bound by the constitution....
 in 1925.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'National Assembly of Iraq'
Start a new discussion about 'National Assembly of Iraq'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Council of Representatives of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 ( Majlis an-Nuwwab al-?Iraqiyy) is the main elected body of representatives in Iraq. It is currently composed of 275 seats and meets in Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 inside the International Zone
International zone

An international zone is a type of extraterritoriality governed by international law, or similar treaty between two or more nations. They can be found within international airports and can contain duty free shopping....
 (Green Zone
Green Zone

The Green Zone is the common name for the International Zone of Iraq— a 10-square-kilometer area in central Baghdad that was the center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city....
). It is governed by bylaws that can be found

History


The monarchy

An elected Iraqi parliament first formed following the establishment of a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of constitutional government, where in either an elected or hereditary monarch is the head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy, wherein the king or the queen is the sole source of political power, as he or she is not legally bound by the constitution....
 in 1925. The 1925 constitution called for a bicameral parliament whose lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis an-Nuwwab) would be elected based on universal manhood suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage

Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult males within a nation are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification....
. The upper house, the Senate (Majlis al-A`yan) was appointed by the king. Ten elections took place between 1925 and the coup of 1958.

On January 17, 1953 elections for the Chamber of Deputies (also known as the National Assembly) took place. Following controversy over the implementation of the so-called Baghdad Pact, Prime Minister Nuri Pasha as-Said
Nuri as-Said

Nuri Pasha al-Said was an Iraqi politician during the British Mandate of Iraq and the monarchy. He served in various key cabinet positions, and served seven terms as List of Prime Ministers of Iraq of Iraq....
 called elections the following year, in early 1954. As-Said dissolved the assembly shortly thereafter and began to rule by decree
Rule by decree

Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben have argued that it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states, including representative democracies....
, 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 parliament.

Under Saddam Hussein

The 1970 constitution created a republic with an elected National Assembly (al-Majlis al-Watani). However, elections for the Assembly did not take place until June 1980, under Iraq's new military president, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power....
. Several more elections took place between 1989 and 2003. The new Assembly was largely a figurehead that would occasionally rubber stamp the president's decrees. Elections for its members were not considered free and fair by the international community. Only members of Hussein's own Baath Party
Baath Party

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was founded in Damascus in the 1940s by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian intellectual, as the original secular Arab nationalist movement, to unify all Arab countries in one State and to combat Western colonial rule that dominated the Arab region at that time....
 were ever elected.

The transitional period

In 2003, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.A leading member of the revolutionary Ba'ath Party, which espoused secular pan-Arabism, economic modernization, and Arab socialism, Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power....
 was forcibly removed from power by the United States of America, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and their allies during the Iraq War
2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1, 2003, was spearheaded by the United States, backed by United Kingdom forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Spain, Poland and Denmark....
. In March 2004 a governing council
Iraqi Governing Council

The Iraqi Governing Council was the provisional government of Iraq from July 13, 2003 to June 1, 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority ....
 set up by the Coalition Provisional Authority
Coalition Provisional Authority

The Coalition Provisional Authority ???? ???????? ??????? was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States, United Kingdom and the other members of the coalition of the willing which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003....
 signed an interim constitution
Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period

The Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period , the Iraqi provisional constitution in the immediate postwar period, was signed on March 8, 2004 by the Iraqi Governing Council....
 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
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
 which would then be submitted to approval by the Iraqi people in a general referendum
Referendum

A referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire Constituency is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal....
.

Elections for this transitional National Assembly (al-Jam`iyya al-Wataniyya) took place on January 30, 2005. The United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance

The United Iraqi Alliance led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim is a Shi'ite Islamist coalition, mainly Arabs, that achieved the most votes in the Iraqi elections of Iraqi legislative election, January 2005 and Iraqi legislative election of December 2005....
 Party won the plurality
Plurality

In voting, a plurality is the largest number of Voting to be received by any candidate or proposition when three or more choices are possible. With only two choices the winner would have a majority, barring a strong showing from a write-in....
 of seats with 48% of the popular vote resulting in 140 seats. Eighty-five members of the assembly were women.

Talks between the UIA and other parties to form a coalition government
Coalition government

A coalition government is a Cabinet of a parliamentary system government in which several political party cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament....
 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
Hajim al-Hassani

Hajim Mahdi Saleh al-Hassani is an Iraqi politician and was the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly under the Iraqi Transitional Government....
 was chosen as speaker
Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like....
; Shiite Hussain Shahristani and Kurd Aref Taifour were elected as his top deputies. The Assembly elected Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani

Jalal Talabani is the current President of Iraq and a leading Kurds politician.Talabani is the founder and secretary general of one of the main Iraqi Kurdish people political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ....
 to head the Presidency Council
Presidency Council of Iraq

The Presidency Council of Iraq is an entity currently operating under the auspices of the "transitional provisions" of the Constitution of Iraq and previously under the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period....
 on April 6, and approved the selection of Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Ibrahim al-Jaafari

Ibrahim abd al-Karim Hamzah al-Ashaiqir al-Jaafari is an Iraqi politician who was Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, following the Iraqi legislative election, 2005....
 and his cabinet on April 28.

The Constitution of 2005

Under the permanent constitution approved on October 15, 2005, legislative authority is vested in two bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union.

The Council of Representatives consists of 275 members elected for four years, with two sessions in each annual term. The Council passes federal laws, oversees the executive, ratifies treaties, and approves nominations of specified officials. It elects the president of the republic, who selects a prime minister from the majority coalition in the Council. (During an initial period, a three-member Presidential Council elected by the Council of Representatives will carry out the duties of the president of the republic.)

Elections for the Council of Representatives were held on December 15, 2005. The Council first met on March 16, 2006, exactly one year after the first meeting of the transitional assembly.

The Council of Representatives of Iraq has the same name in Arabic (???? ??????, Majlis an-Nuwwab) as the lower legislative houses of Bahrain
Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain, in , , literally Kingdom of the Two Seas).Bahrain is an Arabic island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa regime....
, Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, and Yemen
Yemen

Yemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. Yemen has an estimated population of more than 23 million people and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east....
, and as the unicameral legislatures of Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
 and Tunisia
Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
. However, a number of different English terms are used to refer to these bodies.

The Council of Union, or Federation Council (Majlis al-Ittihad), will consist of representatives from Iraq's regions. Its precise composition and responsibilities are not defined in the constitution and will be determined by the Council of Representatives.

2007 Iraqi Parliament Bombing

On, April 12, 2007, Mohammed Awad
Mohammed Awad

Mohammed Awad was a political party member of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council that represented them in the National Assembly of Iraq.On April 12, 2007, he was killed in the Green Zone at the convention centre canteen of the parliament building in Baghdad, Iraq, in the 2007 Iraqi Parliament Bombing....
, a political party member of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council
Iraqi National Dialogue Council

The Iraqi National Dialogue Council is a Sunni Islamist political party initially established as an umbrella organization of approximately ten smaller Sunni parties to take part in the 2005 Iraqi Constitution drafting process....
, was killed at the convention centre canteen of the parliament building, and 22 were wounded, in the 2007 Iraqi Parliament Bombing
2007 Iraqi Parliament bombing

On April 12, 2007, the canteen of the Council of Representatives of Iraq building was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing one MP and wounding 23 other people....
.

2007 issues

A group of Sunni lawmakers boycotted parliament in a June 2007 protest of the removal of the speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani

Mahmoud Dawud al-Mashhadani is an Iraqi Politics of Iraq and the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. He was Iraqi legislative election, December 2005 to the Council of Representatives as part of the Sunni Islam Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front list....
, after a series of controversial actions. They returned in July after the speaker was re-instated with the understanding that he would quietly resign after a few sessions. A group of Shiite members also returned in July after a boycott which gained them an investigation into the bombing of a Shiite mosque, along with reconstruction and improved security. The parliament was under pressure from the United States to pass legislation dealing with members of the Baath party, distribution of oil revenues, regional autonomy, and constitutional reform, by September 2007.

2008 issues

The Iraqi Presidential Council approved the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid
Ali Hassan al-Majid

Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikritieh is a former Baath Party Iraqi Defense Minister, Interior Minister, military commander and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service....
, also known as "Chemical Ali" on February 29 2008.

Last result


See also

  • Members of the 1st Iraqi Council of Representatives
    Members of the 1st Iraqi Council of Representatives

    The members of the first Iraqi Council of Representatives were Iraqi legislative election, December 2005 in December 2005 under the newly-adopted Constitution of Iraq....


External links