Monday Afternoon Iraq Parliament News Highlights 10-24-22
Selling Ministries Is A Prevalent Political “Custom” Before The Formation Of Iraqi Governments
“The phenomenon happened after investors and businessmen entered the scene to invest their money in governments.”
The Independent Arabic Monday October 24 2022 2:08 Auctions and conflicts began between the Iraqi political blocs over ministerial portfolios (AFP)
The political forces in Iraq continue their struggles to acquire ministerial portfolios, especially the sovereign ministries, in an auction that was known before the formation of the new government, as the ministry’s price exceeds millions of dollars that are distributed among the political blocs according to the accepted quota approach after 2003.
Member of the “Al-Fateh Alliance” Mahmoud Al-Hayani revealed the return of buying and selling ministries to the political front, noting that the price of the Ministry of Defense reached 75 million dollars.
Al-Hayani said in a press statement that “there are auctions and conflicts between the political blocs over ministerial portfolios and special degrees,” noting that “the competition between them amounts to huge sums.”
Al-Hayani quoted “informed sources” that “the price of the Ministry of Defense – which is part of the Sunni component – reached 75 million dollars.” He explained that “the ministries’ price increases according to their importance,” noting that “there is a ministry that was sold to more than one person.”
Investors are in control
Political researcher Ali Al-Baydar believes that this phenomenon occurred after investors and businessmen entered the political scene to invest their money in governments by granting some political leaders sums of money as a result of giving them certain ministries to be supervised through them and harnessing their resources for their benefit.
“It also happened through financing political projects and electoral campaigns in exchange for compensating them with some ministerial shares when those electoral blocs obtain parliamentary seats,” he added.
He continued, “The matter was negatively reflected on the performance of ministries and government institutions that were harnessed for the benefit of partisan projects without providing anything for the public interest.”
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He continued, “The situation continued even with the government of Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, which has not yet seen the light, and the value of some ministries has reached more than $100 million. This situation is more prevalent within the Sunni blocs than others,” calling on Al-Sudani to appoint directors of offices affiliated with him in all ministries to inform him. On all violations that occur in order to reduce corruption and pass certain deals.”
Al-Baydar stressed, “There is clear political and financial manipulation. Investors have become the biggest controller in the political scene, and through them any deal is passed.”
He noted that there is supposed to be a security apparatus specialized in political security, preventing the arrival of any suspicious figure, and exposing all corruption deals that take place. He believed that the political process was based on many mistakes, and the accumulation of those mistakes generated a distorted political scene capable of embracing all suspicions.
He added, “Errors are present in all blocs and components, and the process of covering up the error has become a collective case, so it is easy to penetrate any political grouping and pass everything the corrupt want through it.”
infection
Selling Ministries in Millions of Dollars The new political process after 2003 referred to by political researcher Nabil Jabbar Al-Tamimi, as in the world of contracting and construction, has moved to politics, where some shoddy companies work to control contracts as their exclusive privilege, as a main contractor, Then the contracts or parts of them are passed back to small contractors or sub-contractors, through which companies reap huge profits without much effort.
According to Al-Tamimi, “In Iraqi politics, some politicians established the theory of selling positions until it became a norm, claiming electoral merit or balancing the components. Large parties seize ministries and share them, and then some of them seek to arrest early by offering them (for sale or rent) during the government’s continuation. According to financial estimates set by the two parties based on the size of that ministry, its allocations, and the possibility of its employment and exploitation. LINK
There Is No Fixed Date For The Government Announcement Session, And Protests Are Expected Tomorrow, Tuesday
Posted On2022-10-24 By Sotaliraq Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan The coordination framework entered a critical time, as its efforts to form the new government began to intersect with the expected date of the protests tomorrow, Tuesday.
More than 10 days have passed since Muhammad Al-Sudani was appointed, while there is still no fixed date for determining the session for the new government to gain the confidence of Parliament.
The government’s announcement disrupts complex problems between the political forces and the Sudanese on the one hand, and between the blocs among themselves on the other hand, and competition for names and the representation of governorates in the expected booth.
Because of the points system, or what is known as “electoral weight,” more than 10 currents within the “framework” alone may be denied representation.
The coordinating framework – after Al-Sudani received on October 13 the letter of assignment to form the government – was optimistic about the date of announcing the new cabinet before it retreated due to the intensity of competition for positions.
It seems that the “framework” has retreated for the second time from the date of the parliament session, which was expected today, Monday, and according to deputies that the session may be held at the end of the week.
Aref Al-Hamami, a representative of the state of law, said in an interview with Al-Mada: “We still hope to hold the session today, Monday, but it may be postponed to Tuesday, Wednesday, or even Thursday.”
Meanwhile, a group of Tishreen movement activists issued a statement announcing that they would go out to the street tomorrow, Tuesday, which the coordinating framework was avoiding and tried to pass the government before that date.
A video statement by that group indicated that it would organize “big” demonstrations on October 25 in all governorates, noting that the goal was to remove the “corrupt political class” and form a “salvation government.”
Sunni rivalry
Al-Sudani, in turn, according to political sources who spoke to Al-Mada, failed to convince the Azm Alliance, which he visited last Sunday, to put an end to the dispute over the Ministry of Defense.
According to the sources, the dispute spread to the Ministry of Planning, which is likely to be entrusted to the two sides of the Sunni representation “Azm” or the Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Halbousi and Al-Khanjar).
In a scene showing the expansion of competition, Yahya al-Muhammadi, spokesman for the “Sovereignty”, sent a message to their competitors from the same component, talking about representing governorates this time.
Al-Mohammadi addressed the deputies of “Azm” in a statement yesterday, saying: “Brothers and sisters, the leadership and members of the Azm Alliance (…) we are keen, and we are still with you, that the geographical distribution is present in the criteria for the nomination of ministers within the Sunni entitlement in the ministerial cabinet.”
He added in the letter: “Therefore, we call upon you to do this, and to have Nineveh Governorate represented in your ministerial entitlement, as the number of Nineveh Governorate deputies within your coalition is (9) deputies (…) We would also like to inform you that we will also commit to representing Nineveh’s deputies and their number is (9) Within our alliance with ministerial merit.”
The Sunni forces have less than 80 seats, divided between sovereignty (about 60 seats) and the Azm alliance (13 seats).
According to the points system (one point equals two seats), the Sunni forces deserve 3 sovereign ministries and 6 service ministries.
On the ground, however, there are only 6 sovereign ministries (the sovereign is 10 and the service is 8), which are (defense, interior, foreign affairs, finance, oil, and planning), and we are supposed to half of them (3 ministries) to the Shiites.
According to this system, the wing of Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi within the “sovereignty” has 45 seats, of which 30 seats were used for the latter’s position (the Speaker of Parliament 15 points), the remainder has 15 seats and one sovereign ministry and 2 services are guaranteed to him.
As for the Khamis al-Khanjar team (the Sovereignty), it owns 14 seats that it has not used so far, and it is assumed that it will obtain a sovereign ministry (which it may give up in exchange for another position) and 2 services as well.
On the other hand, the Azm alliance won 13 seats that it has not used so far. It also deserves a sovereign ministry and 2 service ones.
According to Azm’s vision, it deserves two sovereign ministries more than Progress, because the latter has obtained the position of Speaker of Parliament.
According to the leaks about the division so far, it is assumed that a “progress” movement has won the Ministry of Planning and Industry, and an alliance of determination on education and defense.
As for the dagger team, it may relinquish the sovereign ministry and retain the Ministry of Commerce, or replace its entire share with the position of Vice President of the Republic (equivalent to 20 seats)
According to the political sources, there is a difficulty in determining the points that determine (electoral weights), and the coordinating framework had given the Sudanese the freedom to choose ministers on condition that those weights be preserved.
Shia weights
Within the coordination framework, only two currents out of 15 in the Shiite bloc get positions, especially after deducting 5 seats from most Shiite forces at the expense of choosing Al-Sudani.
These forces agreed that the prime minister-designate would be the candidate for all of the “framework.” According to the points system, the weight of this position is 30 seats.
On this basis, the rule of law (38 seats) became 33 after deducting 5 seats at the expense of Al-Sudani. It may obtain a sovereign ministry and 3 service ones: oil, agriculture, sports, youth, and education, and part of it may be replaced by the position of Vice President of the Republic.
As for the Al-Fateh coalition (26 seats out of 31 after calculating the Sudanese points), it may not obtain any sovereign ministry and will be given 4 ministries, especially since there are independents who may join the coalition and the number of seats will increase, and the nominated ministries are: Labor, Communications, Transport, and Water Resources .
It is likely that most of the positions within the Fatah coalition will go to the Badr Organization (14 seats), while the shares of the rest of the coalition components are not known. They are: Sadiq (Qais Khazali) and she has 9 seats, Sanad Gathering (Ahmed al-Asadi) has 7 seats, and the Supreme Council has one seat. .
On the other hand, there is the National State Forces Alliance, which has 11 seats (Al-Hakim 9 MPs and Al-Abadi 2 MPs), 5 of which were used (Al-Sudani’s candidacy account).
In addition to the National Contract Alliance (Faleh al-Fayyad), which has two seats after deciding 5 seats, the alliance consists of Ataa (5 deputies), the Iraqi Stability Party and the Reform Movement, one representative for each party.
The coordinating framework also includes Tasmeem Alliance (7 seats, two seats after the deduction of the Sudanese position), the Independent Iraq Alliance (14 seats, 9 seats after the deduction), and the Rights Movement (6 seats, one seat after the deduction).
In addition to the Euphrates Movement headed by the person in charge of forming the government and won 3 seats in the elections, the Wafa Movement (Adnan Al-Zorfi) won two seats, and about 3 other parties got one seat.
On the other hand, there are still two sovereign ministries and 2 service ministries that may go to the Shiites as well (they have not been distributed so far), which are: the Interior, Finance, Health, and Electricity, while there is conflict about acquiring the Sadrist movement’s share in the government or freezing it in the hope of the return of the movement’s leader Muqtada al-Sadr. about the decision to retire.
Kurdish quotas
As for the Kurdish forces, the problem lies in PUK President Bafel Talabani’s acknowledgment that his party is a candidate for the president of the republic, which caused the “Union” to lose 30 seats, which is more than all the party’s 20 seats that it won in the last elections.
The National Union Party had announced on the eve of the election of Abdul Latif Rashid that its only candidate for the presidency is Barham Salih, before Talabani backtracked and announced that the first was their candidate from the beginning.[/size]
On the other hand, the Kurdistan Democratic Party has not yet used any of its 31 seats, and a candidate for the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Reconstruction, and Justice.
As for the Christian forces, the Babylon Movement, which is allied with the coordination framework, it may obtain the Ministry of Immigration.
There were discussions within the political forces to dismantle previously merged ministries, such as the environment, which recently separated from education (it is not yet known from the share of any party), and reviving others canceled such as human rights and women to increase points, as well as the positions of deputies of the presidents of the republic and ministers, and the creation of ministries State (a minister without a ministry). LINK
Al-Sudani To A European Delegation: My Priorities Are To Form A Strong Government Capable Of Facing Challenges
Political | 05:06 – 23/10/2022 Baghdad – Mawazine News Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani received, on Sunday, the European Union Ambassador to Iraq, Filiya Variola, the head of the European Union advisory mission, Andreas Vibari, and the accompanying delegation.
A statement by Al-Sudani’s office said, “Mawazine News” received a copy of it, that “the meeting dealt with strengthening relations between Iraq and the European Union to achieve the aspirations and interests of Iraq and the European Union countries.”
Al-Sudani stressed during the meeting, that “the priorities of his work is to form a strong government capable of facing challenges, the most important of which are economic, and addressing poverty, unemployment, poor services and corruption, expressing Iraq’s aspiration to strengthen its relations with the countries of the world in a way that preserves and achieves the interests of Iraq and its people.”
For his part, “the European delegation stressed the continuation of the Union’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, and the importance of strengthening the emerging democracy in Iraq.” Ended 29/R77 https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=209035
