“After the referendum and the return of Iraqi forces to the disputed territories this desire for making changes to the constitution has grown among some Shiite groups,” says Arez Abdullah, head of the bloc of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the Iraqi parliament. “Some even speak of sidestepping the legalities of it and going ahead with the changes.”
“They argue that because more than three provinces have voted in the referendum they’ve violated the constitution and therefore others have the right to amend the constitution without consulting those provinces.”
According to Abdullah this desire to amend parts of the constitution has been there for a while, but always considered too complicated to do.
“From the start the Sunnis have been asking for amendments and some Shiites too are of the same opinion,” he says. “But making changes to it has been always seen as difficult and complicated and the constitutional conditions stop such ambitions.”
However, making any changes to the constitution, especially without the consent of all parties and provinces, will be a violation that will automatically imperil the country’s unity.
“Section 4 of Article 142 of the constitution itself stipulates that even if the majority of Iraqis vote for a change it will not happen if two thirds of the people of three provinces vote against it,” Abdullah explains. “Article 1 also specifies that commitment to this constitution is the guarantee of Iraq’s voluntary union.”
“This means if the constitution is violated or not implemented it will justify partition and separation.”
It is these legal barriers, says Abdullah, that no one has dared speak of changing the constitution since it was voted for in 2005.
Dr. Farsat Sofi, a member of the Kurdistan Region parliament, emphasizes that the Iraqi constitution formally recognizes the authority of the autonomous Kurdistan Region and its say in Iraq’s affairs.
“Article 117 of the Iraqi constitution recognizes the Kurdistan Region and its authority as a federal region. Article 141 of the same constitution recognizes the work and decisions of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) since its foundation in 1992.” Sofi wrote in an article for Rudaw last week.
Dr. Sofi wrote that in many cases Kurdistan Region laws take priority over federal law.
“Article 112 also gives the KRG the right to amend how to implement a federal law,” he explained about current disputes between Baghdad and Erbil over border gates and customs revenues.
