Political insistence to restore them.. A discussion about the feasibility of the “provincial council

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[size=52]Political insistence to restore them.. A discussion about the feasibility of the “provincial councils” after 3 years of their absence[/size]


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Today, Friday, the online newspaper Arabi 21 published a report on what it described as the “persistence” of the political forces to restore the provincial councils, which were abolished in 2019 in response to the demand of the October demonstrators.[/size]
[size=45]And the newspaper stated, in a report, that “most of the political forces in Iraq insist on reproducing the provincial councils (local administrations), which were canceled by a decision of Parliament in response to one of the demands of the popular protests in October 2019, which was considered at the time a gateway to corruption and waste of money.” .[/size]
[size=45]And she added, “According to financial statistics circulated by local Iraqi websites, the provincial councils annually consumed no less than 200 billion Iraqi dinars (about 137 million dollars) as monthly salaries and expenses for protection, accommodation, and other expenses, including what is known as risk and hospitality provisions.”[/size]
[size=45]She pointed out that “a member of the Regions Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, Salah Zinni, announced last Wednesday that the provincial elections law is about to be discussed,” stressing that “the law is sensitive, and it is necessary to speed up the holding of local elections after the absence of oversight in the provinces after the dissolution of the councils and the transfer of powers from them.” .[/size]
[size=45]"loss of representation"[/size]
[size=45]The newspaper quoted the Iraqi political analyst, Ali Al-Baydar, as saying, “Provincial councils are constitutional institutions, and the decision to dissolve them was a mistake, and the political system must atone for that; Because the matter is not related to a political mood or the desire of the demonstrators and the point of view of the street, because these institutions exist in the constitution, and that their abolition must be through a constitutional amendment.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Baydar added, “The objection was made to the work of the provincial councils. It is certain that they were tools for corruption and deals to pass suspicious actions, but the defect does not lie in the idea, but in the performance of the work of the councils themselves, as many of their members affected the expense of public money.”[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi expert explained that “the absence of provincial councils has made the Iraqi citizen lose his representation, because today we have many regions, and in certain provinces they do not have parliamentary representation, and at the same time they do not have executive tools in the provincial councils, so who will do justice to these people?”[/size]
[size=45]And he continued: “A state of soft dictatorship also emerged, which is the exclusivity of the governor and heads of departments with decisions, as the issue of dismissing the governor needs more efforts than the efforts to dismiss the prime minister, and all of this produced a chaotic reality in the administration of the provinces, and the absence of oversight over institutions in local administrations.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Baydar believed that “the issue of restoring the provincial councils is an inevitable result, with the need to supervise their management and follow-up in order to implement the constitution and ensure citizen representation in local administrations, especially since there are governorates with a diversity of components, so I see the provincial councils as a link between state institutions and citizens.”[/size]
[size=45]“expanding influence”[/size]
[size=45]According to the newspaper, the researcher on Iraqi political affairs, Nawal al-Moussawi, saw that “provincial councils are a constitutional and legal act, and it is one of the important items for laying the foundations of the democratic process in Iraq, but what must be taken is not to politicize these positions and assign them to electoral benefits.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Moussawi explained, “If things happen like this, then we are facing a process of sifting out all state positions, and making them purely political positions whose purpose is not to provide services and move towards administrative decentralization, but rather to limit them to the hands of political forces.”[/size]
[size=45]She pointed out that “the issue of the provincial council elections was postponed 7 years ago, as these councils were neglected in 2014, and then the crisis of the displaced emerged in the country. Therefore, the matter needs to return the displaced to their areas of origin, and end the demographic change that occurred in some important areas.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Moussawi emphasized that “the work of the provincial councils, although it is constitutional and legal, but its reproduction puts us in front of a partisan expansion in the administration of the state, so the coordination framework insists on assigning such job tasks to partisan figures, and here are the risks; Because it is not entrusted to career progression and the national title.”[/size]
[size=45]She explained that “this trend deepens the presence of parties within state institutions, and reduces the chances of competencies not subject to partisan influence,” noting that “returning the provincial councils without returning the displaced to their areas of origin, especially in Sunni areas, hinders the adoption of the law in Parliament.” .[/size]
[size=45]Al-Moussawi explained that “the issue of approving the law has become conditional, so when the main partner in the political process (the Sunnis) feels reassured, and urgent mechanisms are adopted to return the displaced, then the law will pass smoothly in Parliament; Because everyone is striving for this.”[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi government, headed by Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani, plans to hold provincial elections next year 2023, according to what was included in the ministerial curriculum, stressing the importance of overcoming the obstacles facing the Independent High Electoral Commission, to complete its work.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani's office said in a statement, Monday; He "held a joint meeting with Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, attended by the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, Jalil Adnan, devoted to discussing the obstacles facing the Commission's work and preparations for holding provincial elections, as scheduled in the government program during the next year."[/size]
[size=45]The statement indicated that during the meeting, they reviewed the support and support required by the Commission at the legislative and executive levels, in order to continue its work to the fullest. It was also agreed to continue coordination between the government and Parliament for everything that would overcome obstacles facing the Commission.[/size]
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