Shafaq News / The Iraqi parliament voted, at dawn on Monday, that the next House of Representatives will consist of (39) seats, which is the same current number.
The deputies voted that the seats should be distributed:
A- (3220) three hundred and twenty seats on the governorates
B: The following components shall be granted (KOTA)’s share of the total number of public seats in the House of Representatives, provided that this does not affect their share if they participate in the general lists, and it shall be as follows:
1: Christian component (5) five seats distributed to the governorates of Baghdad, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Dohuk and Erbil).
2: Yazidi component (1) one seat in Nineveh province.
3: Mandaean Sabean component (1) is one seat in Baghdad Governorate.
4: Network component (1) one seat in Nineveh Governorate.
5: The Filite Kurds (1) component is one seat in Wasit Governorate.
A: The province for which one of the quota seats is allocated shall be one electoral district to represent the quota seat allocated within the seats of the House of Representatives according to its administrative limits
Parliament also voted that the candidate must have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, except for Kuta. The components. The certificate is preparatory and higher. For the electoral lists, no more than (2,000%) of the number of candidates for segments of society who hold a diploma or preparatory certificate or its equivalent.
He also voted that the candidate is not sentenced to a felony or misdemeanor that violates honor, including cases of administrative and financial corruption stipulated in Articles (330, 333, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339, 340) of the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, as amended by a judicial ruling, whether it is covered by pardon or not.
The House of Representatives previously voted to hold provincial council elections on 6-11-2023, in a session that began at dawn on Monday, to vote on the third amendment law to the law on the elections of the House of Representatives, provincial councils and districts No. 12 of 2018.
Shafaq News / The Legal Committee completed a lengthy meeting after midnight on Sunday – Monday, in which it discussed the draft election law, in the presence of the heads of the presidential blocs and the Presidency of Parliament.
A Shafaq News reporter said there was a move to hold parliament session now and vote on the law, which has sparked controversy over the past two weeks.
He added that about 145 deputies are present in parliament, amid attempts to gather the quorum required for the session, amid opposition from independent deputies and emerging blocs numbering more than 75 deputies.
Our correspondent said there were a preference for an agreement to adopt an electoral representation formula 1.7 under the St. Lego system.
Two weeks ago, the Iraqi Council of Representatives failed to hold any session whose agenda includes the passage of the third amendment to the Provincial Council Elections Law, as currently drafted and the St. Lego regime, which opponents consider a separation law on the size of the forces in force in force in the country, restoring the one-circle system.
St. Lego is a mathematical calculation method that follows the distribution of votes of voters in countries that operate proportional representation, and depends on the division of the votes of alliances by 1.4 incending, in which case, small alliances get a chance to win. But Iraq previously adopted the electoral denominator by 1.9, which made the chances of large political entities rise at the expense of individual candidates (independent and civilian), as well as emerging and small entities.
{Politician: Al-Furat News} House of Representatives member Abdul Amir Al-Mayahi expected the parliament session to be held today after resolving differences over the election law.
“The large political blocs agree to pass the election law in today’s session and we expect the session to take place,” Al-Mayahi said in a press statement.
“There are some disagreements over the law by some emerging powers and independent MPs and we believe things are going to 1.7 or 1.9 percent in the St. Lego Act,” he added.
Baghdad – Mawazine News The International Astronomy Center confirmed that next Thursday will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan.
The center said, “Next Thursday will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, and that all data confirm that the conditions for entering the legal month on Wednesday have not been met, because the crescent will not be present on the horizon of the sky of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the majority of Arab countries, and therefore the Supreme Court is expected to announce that Wednesday The completion of the month of Sha’ban, and that the beginning of Ramadan is on Thursday.” Ended 29/M99
Earth News / The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, received today, Sunday, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al-Ghais. The meeting dealt with the most important challenges facing oil markets today, ways to work to stabilize them, and the importance of coordination between oil-exporting countries. In order to ensure that prices do not fluctuate, affecting the exporting and consuming countries.
Al-Sudani renewed, in a statement received by Earth News, “confirming Iraq’s pivotal role as a founding member of the organization, which Baghdad embraced its founding, and has always contributed, as a positive element, to securing stability in the region.”
He added, “Iraq is continuing to benefit from both explored and associated gas wealth, in a way that secures the best returns for the Iraqi people, and contributes to reducing carbon emissions and environmental impacts and their economic and health effects:.
Baghdad – Mawazine News Iraqi Oil Minister, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, said on Sunday that the talks Iraq is holding with the giant French energy company Total Energies to resolve the sticking points in a delayed activation deal worth $27 billion have reached “advanced stages.”
“They are close to activating the contract,” Abdul-Ghani said at an energy conference.
The agreement, which Baghdad hopes will contribute to reviving foreign investment in the country, was signed in 2021 on the basis that it would allow Total to build four oil, gas and renewable energy projects with initial investments of $10 billion in southern Iraq over 25 years.
However, disagreements between Iraqi politicians over the terms of the agreement hindered its implementation.
Sources told Reuters that Iraq’s request for a 40 percent stake in the project is a major point of contention, as Total Energy wants a majority stake.
In response to a question about whether the issue of Iraq’s share in the project has been resolved, Abdul-Ghani said that the time is not appropriate to discuss the matter, adding that the announcement of the shares will take place when an agreement is reached.
Abdul-Ghani also said that Iraq is committed to maintaining an oil production rate of 220,000 barrels per day, in line with the quota set by the latest agreement of the OPEC+ alliance to cut production.
The minister added that Iraq is ready to increase its production if the OPEC + alliance decides to do so.
He said, “We forced some oil companies operating in the south to reduce production in line with the agreed OPEC + rates.” Ended 29/M99
Shafaq News / The US Middle East Institute, in a report that reflects the view from Brussels representing the European Union, called for playing an important role in promoting the new geopolitics of Iraq and the region, which aims to build bridges, rather than building a bloc aimed at confronting Iran.
The report, translated by Shafaq News, confirmed that Iraq could be at the forefront as part of a new positive regional agenda, so that it is not an arena for battle but rather a platform for regional engagement.
After the report pointed out that the invasion of Iraq in 2003, although controversial and ominous, it had the advantage of ending Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime, but Iraq, 20 years after the war, is still mired in terrible challenges, including severe weather conditions that have been added to a long series of seemingly intractable problems in the economic, demographic, security, governance and political fields, where, for example, there are differences within the Shiite camp, pointing to the intractable polarization that may lead to violence.
The report, written by European Parliament MP Dominique Ruiz Déveza, deputy head of the European delegation in charge of relations with Iraq, in addition to European affairs expert Emileano Elsandri, showed that Iraqi divisions were expectedly exploited by external parties, and that the Middle East faced the dual challenge of promoting competition between countries at a time when state governance is fragile or disputed.
As a result, Iraq’s geopolitics has been largely characterized as weakness, division and foreign interference, he continued. Therefore, the report considers that any discussion about the future of Iraq must be added to it a dose of realism, explaining that internal instability will remain, even to some extent, within the existing institutional system.
However, the report considered it important to recognize and encourage indicators that remain fragile but hopeful about de-escalation and de-escalation, adding that these important efforts are being made by a group of international actors as well as the government in Baghdad itself, and aim to transform Iraq from a battlefield, literally and figuratively speaking, into a platform for regional engagement.
In this context, the report restored the dynamics of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, which was launched two years ago, which contributes to alleviating instability by moving from zero competition to a game with a positive outcome, through synergy between Iraq and its neighbors, noting that this formula is unique because it is also “open to Iran’s participation.”
He also pointed out that the recent development in Iranian-Saudi relations could contribute to direct contacts between Tehran and Riyadh in the context of the upcoming “Baghdad Conferences”, which previously witnessed meetings between Iranians representing Sunni countries, which is an indicator of the melting tensions.
The report dealt with the investment of some of Iraq’s neighbors in the diplomatic process, starting with Jordan and Egypt, in addition to taking concrete steps towards strengthening a tripartite alliance with Iraq, and other projects include initiatives to connect their electricity networks, diversify local economies, and enhance Iraq’s oil exports to its neighbors, while addressing the growing climate challenges.
He added that the recent increase in Egyptian-Jordanian and Iraqi engagement represents “a welcome step towards the stability of Iraq through enhanced regional cooperation.”
Pointing out that these cooperative structures are still very fragile, he pointed out that Washington praised the resumption of regional dialogue on Iraq, but the administration of current President Joe Biden has largely continued former President Donald Trump’s policy of mobilizing a Sunni front ready to work with Israel to contain Iran, pointing out that this is happening while Iran’s influence in Iraq declines compared to past years.
The report warned against shifting any multilateral situation in order to put pressure directly or indirectly on Iran, without paying little attention to what Tehran’s “revenge” could mean on the stability of partially recovering Iraq.
After the report acknowledged that Iran is considered a player that must be contained, after strengthening its military cooperation with Russia and suppressing its citizens, it also pointed out that it is a country that is ready to promote instability in many regional theaters, and therefore, “the policy of containment alone may not be enough,” and that it may be clear that the policy of building the front may be a completely unverifiable goal, which is shown in the recent détente brokered by China between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Role for the European Union
While the report pointed to the regional context dominated by old and new rivalries, and players such as China tend to increasingly intervene where the West is crippled, he considered that the United States and Europe should do a lot of effort to tame troublesome regimes and try to improve the horizons of the region as a whole.
He explained that this bilateral approach is crucial in order to avoid the Middle East sliding into more economic and social trouble, which in turn would exacerbate competition between countries.
Therefore, the report considers that Europe can play an important role in promoting the new geopolitics of Iraq and the region, which aims to build bridges instead of forming blocs and fronts.
He recalled European calls to involve Iraq in initiatives and networks that would strengthen the country’s future in the Euro-Mediterranean space, such as the Union for the Mediterranean, which since its establishment in 2008, has served as a forum for economic and social dialogue, and tries to address key security issues in the region.
He pointed out that Iraq’s commitment to the Union for the Mediterranean (or even full membership) can provide a way to increase its association with its regional neighbors (Egypt and Jordan, but also Turkey, Israel and other member countries in the Middle East and North Africa region such as Lebanon) while strengthening it with stronger links with the European Union.
The report called for Iraq to engage in projects of regional scope on sensitive issues such as water management, which will serve as a key test for the ability of the Middle East and North Africa region to symbiquit or collapse.
In other words, the report calls for regional investment and enriching the EU strategy on Iraq with stronger elements of regional economic development, strengthening the debate on the future of Iraq in the coming months.
With the 20th anniversary of the US attack on Iraq, and the reminder by events in Ukraine of the atrocities associated with the military conflict, any contribution that leads to the replacement of the geography of confrontation, with others that promote joint engagement, must be welcomed, the report concluded.
The report added that Iraq, despite its turbulent recent history, or perhaps because of it, must be at the forefront and centered in a new positive regional agenda.
He concluded by saying that it is the EU, through the right vision and sufficient political will, that it can be together with the US and relevant partners in the region, that mainly promotes this new approach.
Iraqi holds photo of Saddam Hussein statue toppled: Photo by Murtaja Latif
2023-03-19 07:20Font
Shafaq News / Iraqis recall the first US raid on their country on March 19, 2003, and the day after, ground operations began and continued until May 1, 2003, including 26 days of major combat operations involving US forces, the United Kingdom and about 50 other countries.
Military operations began with a violent bombing campaign called “shock and intimidation,” in which Baghdad alone received a thousand airstrikes in one night, and US forces entered the heart of the capital Baghdad on April 9, 2003, and shot down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Paradise Square.
The war’s broad title was “Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction,” an argument made by former U.S. President George W. Bush, for the Bush-appointed committee after dozens of testimonies and interrogations in April 2005 to conclude: “The intelligence community was completely wrong in almost all of its estimates that preceded the war over Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.”
From the day Baghdad fell until Saddam was arrested, and later executed in late 2006, the war left chaos and sectarian battles that killed hundreds of thousands in subsequent years, and eight years and nine months later, US forces ended their withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011, leaving behind a huge amount of shocks experienced by Iraqis.
Between 2003 and 2011, more than 100,000 civilians were killed, according to Victims of the Iraq War, while the United States announced 4,500 deaths among its troops and crews.
This year’s anniversary comes and the Iraqis still disagree, whether it is an occupation or liberation, the fall of Saddam, or the fall of the entire state, some of them express their displeasure with the ruling political parties, and hold them responsible for the situation, but on the other side there are those who indicate that the current fate of the Iraqi came as a result of Saddam’s policies and the wars in which Iraq entered with Iran, Kuwait and America.
Opportunity for self-determination
The political analyst, Saad Al-Muttalibi, says that “the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime will not pass without the people remembering the tragedies of the Baath regime, the absurd wars and chemical weapons in Halabja, and he also remembers the fall of principles and the collapse of values as a result of the deadly siege that was exerted against the Iraqi people, while the tyrant was busy building palaces and practicing a life of luxury and might.”
Al-Muttalibi adds, to Shafaq News, “The people are still looking forward to a better tomorrow and looking to the future with optimism, through their right to choose his government,” noting that “the coalition forces committed catastrophic mistakes but gave the people the opportunity to decide their own fate.”
A change that did not meet the ambition
For his part, the political analyst, Al-Mezan, says that “the Iraqis were relying on a democratic political system that establishes real institutions alternative to the Baath regime, but this did not happen, but the occupation gave birth to a distorted system based on quotas and sectarianism, and a society that is more distorted than the political system as a result of these wars.”
Al-Mezan explains, to Shafaq News, “Therefore, the change that took place in 2003 did not meet what the Iraqi people and even the countries of the region aspired to, Iraq did not become an element of stability for it, on the contrary, it produced great problems and these problems moved to all countries of the region.”
During the 20 years since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraq went through many stages, most notably the following:
The unified coalition authority headed by Paul Bremer took over Iraq affairs and then the Governing Council from July 12, 2003 until June 1, 2004, where the council was dissolved to replace the Iraqi Interim Government.
June 2005: First session of the Kurdistan Parliament held in Erbil, and Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, is chosen as president
August 19, 2003: A suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives towards the Canal Hotel east of Baghdad, where the UN mission was settling, detonating it and killing 22 people, including Brazilian Sergio de Mello, then head of the international team in Iraq.
August 29, 2003, cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim was assassinated by the explosion of a car bomb placed near his car after he was discharged from the Hajari saucer after performing Friday prayers. The incident killed and wounded hundreds of worshippers.
December 14, 2003: Saddam Hussein arrested in Tikrit.
February 2004: More than 100 people were killed in Erbil in two double attacks on the offices of the main Kurdish parties.
April/May 2004: Which was full of events, where gunmen affiliated with Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr launched attacks on coalition forces, reports of hundreds killed in fighting between the US military that besieged the city of Fallujah, leaked pictures of violations against Iraqi prisoners by US forces, and the killing of Speaker of the Governing Council Izz al-Din Salim in an explosion outside the coalition headquarters in Baghdad.
June 28, 2004: Iyad Allawi was sworn in as interim prime minister of Iraq, the first post-Saddam Hussein governor to lead the country in more than three decades, and stepped down in April 2005.
August 2004: Fighting erupts in Najaf between US-led forces and armed elements led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
November 2004: A major U.S.-led attack on militants in Fallujah.
January 30, 2005: Millions of Iraqis voted in the country’s first free elections in half a century, and Iraqi expatriates also took part.
April 6-7, 2005: Jalal Talabani was chosen president by the Transitional National Assembly, the next day he and two vice presidents were sworn in, and on May 3 of the same year Ibrahim al-Jaafari was sworn in as interim prime minister of Iraq.
August 2005: Shia and Kurdish negotiators ratify the draft constitution while Sunni negotiators reject it.
October 2005: Voters approve a new constitution aimed at creating a federal democratic system based on Islamic principles in Iraq.
2006: Nechirvan Barzani was re-elected Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region (the unified government that brought together the Patriotic Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Union), was re-elected to the same position again from 2011 to 2013, and took over as head of government again in 2013 until 2018 and became vice-chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party at the 13th Party Congress, before being elected to the post of president of the Kurdistan in December 2018.
February 22, 2006, which witnessed the destruction of the dome and lighthouse of the shrine of the two military imams of Shiite Muslims, which caused unprecedented sectarian violence and led to the death of thousands of citizens, the displacement of more than four million of them inside and outside the country, and the destruction and burning of dozens of mosques.
April 22, 2006 Talabani names Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister.
June 7, 2006: Al-Qaeda leader Mesopotamia (Iraq) Musab al-Zarqawi is killed in an airstrike, and more than 200 people are killed in Sadr City, Baghdad, in the worst attack in the capital since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. forces.
November 5, 2006 The Iraqi Supreme Court reaches a ruling in the Dujail case. Eight people were charged with crimes related to the killing of 148 Iraqis in 1982. Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging pending appeal, and on December 30 of the same year Saddam Hussein was hanged a few minutes after 6 a.m. Baghdad time.
February 2007: More than 130 people were killed by an explosion at the Sadrist market in Baghdad; one of the worst explosions since 2003.
August 2007: A truck bomb and bombs target two villages inhabited by Kurds Yazidis, killing at least 250 people in the worst deadly attack since 2003.
March 2008: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki orders a confrontation with Shiite militias in Basra, which led to battles with Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army and hundreds killed.
November 2008: The Iraqi Council of Representatives approves security agreements with the United States so that all US troops leave Iraq by the end of 2011.
March 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama announces the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010.
July 2009: New opposition forces make significant gains in elections in the Kurdistan Regional Parliament of Iraq. With the re-election of Massoud Barzani as president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
October 2009: Two car bombs exploded near Baghdad’s Green Zone, killing at least 155 people in Iraq’s worst violence since April 2007.
December 2009: Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed at least 127 people, as well as other attacks in August and October that killed 240 people.
January 2010: Controversy intensifies in Iraq when candidates said to have links to the dissolved Baath Party were barred from running for parliamentary elections in March but an Iraqi court later lifted the ban, delaying election campaigns.
And the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Ali al-Khaymawi, who was a key leading figure in Saddam Hussein’s regime.
March 7, 2010 Iraqi legislative elections and results are announced on March 26. The Iraqiya coalition, led by Iyad Allawi, wins the most seats in parliament, and on November 25 of the same year appointed Talabani al-Maliki for a second term as prime minister at a televised ceremony.
October 2010: Gunmen seize a church in Baghdad, 52 people killed in what was described as Iraq’s worst single disaster for Iraq’s Christians in modern times.
January 2010: The cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, returns to Iraq after four years of self-imposed exile in Iran.
February 2011: Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region resumed amid a long dispute between the region and the central government in Baghdad over who is entitled to conclude oil contracts with foreign companies.
December 2011: U.S. completes withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The Iraqi coalition government is facing chaos. An arrest warrant has been issued for Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a key leader of the year. Sunni MPs boycott parliament and cabinet
March 2012: The Iraqi government organizes the Arab Summit Conference in Baghdad, at the first summit organized in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Dozens killed in a series of bombings in Iraq ahead of the summit.
April 2012: Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region stopped against the backdrop of a dispute with the central government in Baghdad over the extent of its right to enter into contracts with foreign oil companies.
December 2012: President Jalal Talabani gets a stroke, transferred to Germany for treatment.
April 2013: Iraqi forces storm the square where Sunni anti-government protesters are protesting in the city of Hawija in Kirkuk province, leaving more than 50 dead and leading to anger and clashes in other towns.
July 2013: At least 500 prisoners, most of them prominent al-Qaeda members, flee Taji and Abu Ghreb prisons in two qualitative operations.
September 2013: Legislative elections in Kurdistan won by the Democratic Party with a comfortable majority.
September 2013: Iraq’s fugitive vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, is sentenced to death by hanging for involvement in murders. Hashemi took refuge in Turkey after being accused of running death squads.
December 2013: At least 35 people were killed by double bombings targeting churches in Baghdad during Christmas.
January 2014 Violence erupted in Anbar province between Iraqi security forces, Sunni tribesmen and al-Qaeda-linked groups fighting for control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
June 10, 2014 The defector organization ISIS took over Nineveh province with Mosul as its capital, and a day later took control of Tikrit.
August 14, 2014 In a televised speech, Maliki withdrew his candidacy for a third term, and succumbed to Haider al-Abadi’s choice as his replacement.
December 9, 2017 The Iraqi army said in a statement that it had “fully liberated” the territory occupied by ISIS in Iraq, and regained full control of the Iraq-Syrian border.
October 2, 2018 Barham Salih was elected President of the Republic and Adel Abdul Mahdi was appointed Prime Minister.
October 2019: Jalal Talabani dies after suffering from illness
October 2019 At least 104 people have been killed and 6,107 injured in protests across Iraq over the past week, according to Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan, and protests have erupted across the country over frustration with government corruption, lack of basic services, and rising unemployment.
October 31, 2019 Barham Salih announced that Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi will resign once a replacement is nominated. It comes after weeks of anti-government protests that have killed more than 200 protesters and killed thousands of victims.
September 2017: Kurdistan Region holds independence referendum from Iraq and 92% of voters perform independence, a measure rejected by the Iraqi government headed by Haider al-Abadi, as well as Iran and Turkey.
October: Baghdad launches the Battle of Kirkuk or officially launched “Kirkuk Security Operations” against Peshmerga forces to regain control of disputed territory and return the pre-2003 borders. After the referendum, which was followed by several measures, was described as punitive.
December 1, 2019 – As anti-government protests continue, the Iraqi parliament announces acceptance of Abdul Mahdi’s resignation. Abdul Mahdi will serve as interim prime minister until a new prime minister is appointed.
January 3, 2020 Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in a raid by an American drone at Baghdad International Airport, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, and a number of their companions.
January 5, 2020 The Iraqi parliament votes to end the presence of all foreign forces in Iraq, according to the information office of the Iraqi parliament. The vote represents a rebuke to the United States for the airstrike targeting Soleimani and Al-Mohandis.
May 7, 2020 The Iraqi parliament gives confidence to Mustafa Kadhim (head of the intelligence service) to assume the presidency of the government.
October 27, 2022 Iraq ended a political stalemate lasting more than a year by granting confidence to a new government headed by coordination framework candidate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Shafaq News / The President of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, renewed on Sunday his call on foreign companies to invest in various projects in the region, pledging to provide them with the necessary facilities.
Masrour Barzani said in a speech, on the occasion of the inauguration of the “Al-Hayat” hotel, and “Colin Mall” in the city of Erbil, said: We in the Kurdistan Region have pledged to support the private sector in order to be able with the public sector to provide services to citizens.
He expressed his hope that investment projects in all Kurdistan Region will continue without exception, considering that these projects help to continue qualifying the economy in the region.
The head of the regional government called on foreign companies to come to the Kurdistan Region and invest in it, stressing that the necessary facilities are provided to them by the territorial government.
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