Iraq Development Program -2005 draft constitution

2005 draft constitution

A great deal of significance has been placed on the new constitution to Iraq's National Assembly, with the chairman of the committee that drafted it describing the moment as a "marvellous experience for all Iraqis". Humam Hammoudi said that they should be congratulated for their work on "a constitution written by Iraqi hands".

The document was recently read out chapter-by-chapter, line-by-line to Iraqi members of parliament, though these members were exclusively Shia or Kurd.

The first draft of the constitution stipulates that former Baath party officials will be excluded from public office in the future. This move signals a break from the past, as does the intention of many Shias within the government to loosen ties to Baghdad.

The constitution will open up the possibility of the Shias having a degree of autonomy in the southern region of Iraq, enshrining a situation similarly to the one that exists for the Kurds in the north.

The draft document stipulates that oil revenues will be used for the benefit of all Iraqis.

The draft follows January's elections

The draft constitution will be put to the popular vote in a referendum in October. Under the electoral mechanism to be used, it will only require voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces to muster a two-thirds majority against the document for the constitution to be abandoned.

The point has rightly been made that even if the constitution is abandoned due to protest by the Sunnis - many of whom did not vote in the January elections - they will at least be engaging in the democratic process, representing a significant development in Iraq's troubled path towards a brighter future.

For the full version of Iraq's draft constitution, please click here.