Arranging Democratic Government:

1
Arranging Democratic Government

• The Case of Iraq, 2005

Posters for the elections are prepared in a
printing shop in Baghdad. They exhort Iraqis to
vote to build a new Iraq.(Photo AP/WWP, Hadi
Mizban. From http//usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs
/iraqelect/primer.htm)
2
Legal sources and precedents

• Transitional Administrative Law
• The Baath regime (1968-2003)
• Earlier Iraq models
• The constitutional monarchy, 1921-1958
• The Ottoman era, 19th century and earlier

3
How power is distributed Federal system (?)

• The system of government in Iraq shall be
  republican, federal, democratic, and pluralistic,
  and powers shall be shared between the federal
  government and the regional governments,
  governorates, municipalities, and local
  administrations.
• Iraqi Interim Constitution, Article 4
• 18 governorates
• Each has Governor, a Governorate Council, and
  municipal and local councils. 
• No member of regional government may be dismissed
  by the federal government except upon conviction
  of a crime
• Funded from the general state budget
• Have the authority to tax
• to initiate and implement province-level projects

• Special recognition for the Kurdistan Regional
  Government in the governorates of Dohuk, Arbil,
  Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk, Diyala and Neneveh.
• With
• Kurdistan National Assembly, the Kurdistan
  Council of Ministers, separate judicial system
• Any group of no more than three governorates
  outside the Kurdistan region, with the exception
  of Baghdad and Kirkuk, shall have the right to
  form regions from amongst themselves.
• Mechanisms for this not decided upon.

4
Selection of Leadership Parliamentary system
(doesnt have to be from Nat. Assembly)
3-person presidency council (1 Pres, 2 VPs)
Prime Minister
Cabinet
Transitional National Assembly (275 seats)
confirms...
? ? ?? ? ? VOTERS ? ? ? ? ? ?
START HERE!
5
Duties of Presidency

• Largely ceremonial
• to represent the sovereignty of Iraq and oversee
  the higher affairs of the country
• National Assembly has the power to remove any
  member of the Presidency Council of the State for
  incompetence or lack of integrity by a
  three-fourths majority of its members votes.  
• Can veto any legislation passed by the National
  Assembly (if done within 15 days after passage of
  legislation) Veto can be overturned by a 2/3
  majority of the National Assembly.
• commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces only
  for ceremonial and protocol purposes. 
• It shall have no command authority.  It shall
  have the right to be briefed, to inquire, and to
  advise.  Operationally, national command
  authority on military matters shall flow from the
  Prime Minister to the Minister of Defense to the
  military chain of command of the Iraqi Armed
  Forces. (Article 39)

6
Duties of Prime Minister

• Day-to-day responsibility for the management of
  the government
• May dismiss ministers with the approval of an
  simple majority of the National Assembly
• Legislative power right to draw up bills
• The Prime Minister and the ministers shall be
  responsible before the National Assembly, and
  this Assembly shall have the right to withdraw
  its confidence either in the Prime Minister or in
  the ministers collectively or individually.
  (article 40)

7
How voters vote (extreme) proportional
representation

• of votes received of seats gained
• No election threshold
• Parties or coalitions needed 1/275 total vote to
  gain one seat
• Closed list system
• Parties chose candidates themselves and ranked
  them this list submitted to the IEC (not on
  ballot)

Polling station head explains ballot papers to
Iraqi election officials at Az Zubayr, southern
Iraq. (AP/WWP, Andrew Parsons)
http//usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/iraqelect/pr
imer.htm
8
Results of the Jan. 2005 election

• United Iraqi Alliance (Islamist Shiite)
• Kurdish Coalition

9
The Timetable
Source BBC World Service