Iraq's Prime Minister Advisor for Constitutional Affairs, Hassan Al-Yasiri, revealed today, Monday, a new and different vision for amending the constitution, which involves moving away from political conflict issues, and noted that it has been well received by most political blocs.
Al-Yasiri stated to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani has adopted the constitutional amendment project, especially since it was approved in 2005, and the Iraqi mentality, whether at the political, parliamentary, or public levels, has changed, including many opinions and ideas."
He explained that "the constitution is not written to be eternal; it must be amended at a certain stage." He pointed out that "the constitution, upon its approval, mandated its amendment, and previously there were two experiences to amend it: the first from 2006 to 2009, which was called the Constitutional Review Committee, but due to severe disagreements at that time, the project was not completed."
He added, "The second experience was in 2019 during the government of Adil Abdul-Mahdi, where a constitutional amendment project was adopted by the presidency and the parliament, but after the protests, the amendments did not see the light and thus the project was halted for the second time."
He indicated that "what is being proposed now differs from the previous two projects, as it includes a vision and mentality different from the past," dismissing "the idea of amending all articles of the constitution from article one to article 44."
He stressed that "it is essential to benefit from past experiences, in addition to emulating the effects of advanced countries like the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Spain, and Canada, which have amended parts of the constitution rather than entirely." He noted that "there are critical issues, and making amendments on them will lead to political conflict, so they must be avoided."
He pointed out that "the constitutional amendment should be gradual, allowing for the amendment of texts agreed upon by all to be necessary, such as article 76 and the article related to the selection of the President of the Republic. It is essential to define explicitly the meaning of the largest bloc and what is meant by a two-thirds majority in choosing the president, whether it refers to those present or the total number, as well as rephrasing some constitutional texts, especially concerning independent bodies and agencies not linked to ministries, in addition to reevaluating transitional justice institutions."
He continued that "this vision has been presented to the leaders of the Shiite and Sunni political blocs, and it has received approval, with ongoing efforts to present it to the Kurdish political bloc."
