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Talabani seeks to amend Kurdistan region
constitution
14.12.2012
By Bassem Francis, Al-Hayat (Pan Arab). Al Monitor |
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Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (R), the head
of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
with
Nawshirwan Mustafa (L), the leader of Change
Movement (Gorran). September 2012. Photo: PUK
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December 14, 2012
SULÊMANI,
Kurdistan region 'Iraq',— For the first time,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, has reached an
agreement with the opposition parties — most notably
the Movement for Change (Gorran) — to resubmit a
number of laws, including the Kurdistan Region’s
draft constitution, to parliament, so that consensus
may be reached on their validity.
Previous reports have stated that PUK supported the
opposition’s view that the Kurdistan regional
government should be changed from a presidential to
a parliamentary system. However, the party of
Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud
Barzani is opposed to this, as it does not serve its
interests.
The Kurdistan List, which represents the two main
Kurdish parties, will hold a meeting today [Dec. 13]
with the opposition parliamentary blocs to discuss
the resubmission of returning nationwide laws to
parliament for further debate. The Change bloc
stated that this position will gain majority support
and affect the positions of those who reject it.
The meeting comes after the Joint Committee from PUK
and the opposition Movement for Change raised a
request to “resend nationwide laws to parliament for
amendment,” most notably reformulating the
controversial draft constitution of the Kurdish
region.
On [Dec. 12], Kardo Mohammed, leader of the Change
parliamentary bloc, told Al-Hayat that both the
majority and the opposition blocs “will hold a
meeting in parliament [on Dec. 13] to discuss the
issue of referring laws of national concern and
those directly linked to the life of the citizens to
parliament.”
He noted that some of these laws affect or are
related to “the Kurdish region’s security council,
higher commissioner for elections, the right to
protest, party budgets and elections in the
[Kurdish] governorate.
“The agreement that a number of blocs in parliament
reached on this orientation would affect the
position of those who opposed the vote,” he added.
When asked about the position taken by Massoud
Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party,www.ekurd.net
Mohammed stated: “There is no other option other
than to reach a consensus on laws that are directly
linked to public life, and I think that the
Democratic Party will agree.”
Discord has returned to Kurdish political circles
regarding the system of government. Some demand that
the presidential system be kept, while others have
called for it to be turned into a parliamentary
system.
The issue regarding the powers of the Kurdistan
region’s president, Massoud Barzani, is again under
scrutiny. This dispute had previously been sidelined
as a result of the escalating crisis between the
Kurdistan region and the central government,
particularly over the disputed areas.
Kurdish political analyst Kifah Mahmoud told Al-Hayat:
“The debate is limited to the submission of the
Kurdish region’s draft constitution to the
parliament. This is an unprecedented move: The draft
was discussed, voted-on in parliament and submitted
to the presidency of the region before it went to a
referendum.
“It is possible that something took place between
PUK and the Movement for Change, which used to be a
part of the PUK, but then they agreed on most of the
draft’s articles,” added Mahmoud.
“The timing might not be ideal at present, as a
result of the crisis between the KRG and the
Baghdad-based central Iraqi government. Raising
divisive issues at this stage could affect Kurdish
unity,” he said.
Regarding the Democratic Party’s position on the
submission of these laws to parliament, Mahmoud
said, “There is no problem, because everyone is
looking to strengthen this experience.”
Translated by al-monitor.com from Al-Hayat (Pan
Arab) alhayat.com
Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, al-monitor.com
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