Wednesday Tariq al-Hashemi pissed in a lot of people's Post Toasties. Not ours but a lot of people were enraged by al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents, vetoed the election law.
At the time, he explained that he was doing because the efforts to expand the number of members of Parliament did not adequately reflect the number of Iraqi refugees. Speaking to Al Jazeera (link is video), Tariq al-Hashemi explained:
Kamahl Santamaria: Why is five-percent, the sticking point of five-percent for Iraqis in exile, Iraqis abroad, why is five-percent not enough?
Tariq al-Hashemi: Well five-percent, in fact, if you just -- if you just reflect it to a number of seats -- we are talking a number not exceeding, in no way, seven seats. Seven seats according to Article 49 of the Constitution doesn't mean anything. According to the text of this article, we have to ensure that each 100,000 Iraqis, whether they are living inside or out -- or outside Iraq, they should be entertained by one seat. So seven seats doesn't entertain the least figure which ministry of migration has maintained time being. The number of Iraqis outside of-of Iraq which has been recorded as per Ministry of Migration is one-million-five hundred. If you're talking NGOs, international human rights, this figure could reach to 4.5 million. So if we are allocating only seven seats, this means that we are entertaining 700,000 Iraqis and ignored 800,000.
Speaking to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! last week, our pal and buddy Raed Jarrar insisted, "We’re just splitting hairs regarding that issue, between five percent or ten percent or whatever the number is." Splitting hairs? If the Constitution requires something, then that's what you do. We grasp that someone with no academic background in political science who grew up under Saddam Hussein may not comprehend rule of law, but the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
The effort to expand the Parliament is being done because of Nouri al-Maliki. He's been vocal (not that most of the press has paid attention) about his disdain for seats being set aside for various minorities, he's complained of that in the Parliament and on his cabinet. He's maintained that the new, broader Iraq political scene he 'commands' will demonstrate that in the upcoming elections. They will certainly try to demonstrate it in the Parliament as they expand their 'lead' by increasing the number of seats in the Parliament.
48 seats are being added. Supposedly due to a population explosion. Which areas have had a population explosion in Iraq? Only one are: the Kurdish north. Not due to a huge increase in birth rates but due to a huge influx of internal refugees. Out of the 48 seats, how many are being awarded to the KRG?
Three.
The claim is that the bulk of the population growth/shift has been outside of the KRG.
Well . . . if that's what the census says, then that's what it says. We can't argue with a census after all and . . .
Oh. Wait.
There was no census. Despite a census being mandated by the 2005 election, there has still been no census.
So what is the basis for this claimed increase in population?
The food-rationing registry. This is the program set up by Saddam Hussein to provide Iraqi families with staples. The program has been repeatedly cut since the start of the illegal war (with the US officials repeatedly calling for it to be ended)? Many on the registry get nothing because they no longer live in the same area and the system is too complex for them to update or alter their registration.
Even more problematic is that this registry is overseen by the Trade Ministry. Until the middle of May, that ministry was headed by a member of Nouri's political party, Abdel Falah al-Sudani. Did his term expire in May?
No.
Did he die in office?
No.
Did he leave for 'family issues'?
No.
He resigned in disgrace as the Parliament was calling him out and demanding he appear before them. Back then, Bloomberg News reported that al-Sudani "acknowledged cases of corruption and said the system needed to be revised" and that "Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity earlier this month charged nine trade ministry officials with financial and administrative corruption related to the country's food import program."
Financial and administrative corruption. Having to do with the registry. The very registry that is now cited as proof of expansion in Nouri's favor?
A power grab is taking place. Iraq's Communist Party grasps that. al-Hashemi may as well. But the press damn sure should grasp it. If it wasn't about a power grab, the easiest thing to do would be to remove the efforts to add 48 seats to the Parliament. Drop that and al-Hashemi's objection vanishes.
But it's about a power grab and that's apparently going to take place with little attempt on the part of the press to document it -- let alone call it out.