allawi ineligible?niqash | Kholoud Ramzi | thu 25 mar 10
Iyad Allawi, who looks set to win the most votes after the generalelection, could find his hopes of taking-up the post of Prime Ministerdashed because his mother is not originally from Iraq.
Allawi’s opponents point to the fact that his mother is Lebanese and saythat this makes him constitutionally ineligible for both the role ofPresident and of Prime Minister.
Unsurprisingly, representatives of the State of Law coalition and theKurdistan Alliance have stressed the importance of abiding by theconstitution in the selection of the two persons who will assume thesetwo high-ranking posts.
“The Iraqi constitution has clearly and explicitly stipulated specialconditions for the presidency post and for that of the prime minister,”said Ali al-Allaq, a leading member of the Dawa Islamic Party, in aninterview with the local al-Sumariyah TV station.
“The coalition is examining news published in the media about theLebanese origin of Allawi’s mother to find out the truth.”
On 21 March, coinciding with Iraqi Mother’s Day, the government-ownedNational Media News Agency raised the issue in an article published onits website. No news or analysis was contained in the piece. The newsagency simply published the content of Article 74 and 65 of theconstitution as a ‘reminder’ to Iraqis.
Article 65 of the constitution states that a nominee to the Presidencypost ‘must be an Iraqi by birth, born to Iraqi parents’, while article74 stipulated that the ‘conditions for assuming the post of the PrimeMinister shall be the same as those for the President of the Republic’,i.e. born to Iraqi parents.
Allawi’s mother’s family name is Usairan, a Shiite feudal family inLebanon. The Usairan family held many high-ranking positions there,including speaker in the Lebanese parliament.
“This article was added to the Iraqi permanent constitution at a laterstage and it was not stipulated in the interim constitution approved bythe governing council before being dissolved in 2004,” said Jamalal-Bateekh, a candidate for the Iraqiya list who admits that Allawi’smother did not become Iraqi.
“Despite this development, our list continues to support Allawi’scandidacy,” he continued, adding: “The blocs currently using theconstitution are some of the worst violators of its provisions. We willnot allow this abuse of the constitution to exclude Allawi from takingoffice.”
The matter has surfaced at a critical stage in competition between theparties and blocs competing for power and the major portfolios in theway of the elections.
According to results announced by the Independent High ElectoralCommission (IHEC), which are now almost complete, Allawi’s list shouldwin over 90 seats, with Maliki winning a very similar but slightlysmaller number. This means that Allawi should be the first candidateoffered the chance to form a government.
While some legal and constitutional experts see no way that theconstitution can be circumvented to allow a nominee whose parents arenot both Iraqi from assuming one of the two main offices, Jamalal-Bateekh believes that the facts on the ground contradict the article.The constitution also demands that ‘the bloc with the largest number …form[s] the Cabinet’.
Allawi may resort to the federal court if the campaign against himcontinues and he feels a serious threat of exclusion looming but atleast some legal opinion does not hold much hope for him.
“The article is very explicit and clear. There is no way of beingreinterpreted or re-discussed,” said Tareq Harb, who participated in thedrafting process of the constitution. He disagrees with al-Bateekh thatAllawi can still be nominated because of the provision for the largestbloc to form the cabinet.
“There is no contradiction there. The winning bloc must just nominateanother candidate who fulfils all the criteria specified in theconstitution for the post.”
Maysoun al-Damluji, a spokesperson for Iraqiya said she was surprisedthat Allawi could be banned now, having served as Prime Minister before.
“It is very strange that the different political blocs at that time didnot protest his nomination to the post,” she said.
However, in response to her statement, Tareq Harb pointed out that thelaw was signed into existence after Allawi’s term in office.
“Allawi was Prime Minister between 28 June 2004 and March 2005, whilethe amendment was made during al-Jaafari’s days in office and wasapproved in a referendum held on 15 October 2005.”
While Harb’s words suggest that Allawi may as well cease his campaignimmediately, past experience shows that compromise can usually bereached, even in the face of the most powerful constitutional barriers.