17 February 2005
Iraqi Electoral Commission Certifies Election Results
Twelve parties to take seats in National Assembly
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) certified the results February 17 for Iraq's January 30 elections. The final allocation gives seats in the Transitional National Assembly to 12 parties out of the 111 political entities on the ballot.
The United Iraqi Alliance received 140 seats, giving it an absolute majority in the 275-member Assembly. The Kurdish Alliance List, which brought together the two main Kurdish parties, received 75 seats. The Iraqi List, led by current Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, received 40 seats.
Other parties represented in the Assembly include: The Iraqis, with five seats; the Iraqi Turkoman Front, with three seats; the Independent National Cadres and Elites, with three seats; the People's Union, with two seats; the Kurdish Islamic Group of Iraq, with two seats; the Iraqi Islamic Labor Organization, with two seats; the Reform and Liberation Bloc, with one seat; the Democratic National Alliance, with one seat; and the National List of the Rafidayn, with one seat.
Given the allocations, no single party has the two-thirds majority that is necessary to name the three-member Presidency Council, which is the Assembly's first order of business. Consequently, the parties will have to engage in negotiations and coalition building in order to make governmental appointments and enact legislation.
While the Presidency Council serves a largely ceremonial function, it is entrusted with the task of appointing a prime minister, who will exercise the majority of executive and administrative powers. The prime minister and his or her Council of Ministers is subject to approval by a majority vote in the Assembly.
According to the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), the Assembly must also muster a two-thirds majority to overturn presidential vetoes of proposed legislation.
The primary task of the Assembly is to draft a constitution. Several political leaders who fared poorly in the elections have indicated that they are still interested in participating in the constitutional process. This is in keeping with the provision of the TAL that says the Assembly shall proceed with this task "by encouraging debate on the constitution through regular general public meetings in all parts of Iraq and through the media, and receiving proposals from the citizens of Iraq as it writes the constitution."
According to the TAL, the Assembly has until August 15 to propose a draft of the document to the Iraqi people, who will vote on it in a referendum October 15. If the voters approve the constitution, it will serve as the basis for a new election December 15 to establish a constitutional government.
More than 8.5 million Iraqis participated in the January elections despite threats of violence and terrorist attacks. Voter turnout was slightly above 58 percent.
Voters also cast ballots for governorate councils in each of Iraq's 18 provinces.
"This is a birth for Iraq, a free Iraq," said IECI spokesman Farid Ayar as he released the election results February 13.
In a statement February 13, President Bush said, "I congratulate the Iraqi people for defying terrorist threats and setting their country on the path of democracy and freedom. And I congratulate every candidate who stood for election and those who will take office once the results are certified."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=February&x=20050217175331ndyblehs0.3478662&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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