Kurdish analyst: “The Iraqi Constitution should not be tossed aside”

As Iraq is going through a political deadlock with political parties unable to come to terms to form a new government since October elections, the Constitution of Iraq is subjected to debate in political circles that call for change.

The Sadrist Movement that emerged as the largest group in the Iraqi Parliament in October elections, has recently called for reforms, snap elections, and its leader Muqtada al-Sadr gave a deadline to the judiciary to dissolve the parliament.

Dr. Shali, a former academic and president of the Kurdish National Congress (KNC) of North America, notes in his recent article on the Website of Washington Kurdish Institute that the Sadrist Movement has some “odd voices” especially in the Imtidad bloc, who call for the "demolition of the constitution."

The 2005 Iraqi Constitution was drafted in the post-Saddam era. The Shia, the Kurds and [some] Sunni groups reached a consensus and approved the constitution in a referendum by a 79% majority.

Shali states that the constitution is not perfect by any means, but it was the best product that could be reached at the time.

He responds to the constitution debate saying, "The core issue in Iraq is the inability or unwillingness to implement the constitution, not the constitution itself."

He says that the Iraqi Government failed in implementing the constitution by,

- Not normalizing the areas which were subjected to Arabization under the Ba’ath Regime.

- Not allocating a budget for the Peshmerga

- Not adopting an oil and gas law that would end the deadlock the Kurdistan region is facing.

- Not creating a federation council to represent regions and provinces in Baghdad which was passed as law.

- Not compensating the Kurdish, Yazidi, Christian and other minority victims of the Saddam regime and ISIS.

Shali mentions that Iraq has the means to build a stable society and the constitution should not be tossed aside, instead the solution is to implement the constitution and all the "good legislation" that is passed under it.