Briefing: Delegates from Iraqi Governing Council

[Wonder]

snip
Ambassador Pachachi : Well, thank you very much for inviting us to make this presentation. From the first day after the fall of the regime, the previous regime, the Iraqi people have demanded continuously that there should be an Iraqi government to manage the affairs of the country. And I believe, probably rightly, that perhaps an Iraqi government can deal with these problems more effectively. The question is how to set up this interim government, or transitional government. At the beginning, the idea was that there should be representative conferences, like the one that was held in Nasiriyah, at the end of April and the other one in Baghdad. The intention was to convene as large a conference by the end of May, to elect members of an interim government, Iraqi government.

But there was disagreement on how to select the participants in the conference. And since speed really became of the essence, because we couldn't go on ... couldn't wait too long ...

The ultimate aim of course is really to have a Constitution, that will be approved by the Iraqi people, a referendum, and then you have elections in the Constitution for a government that derives its legitimacy from the desires of the Iraqi people.

So, instead of elections which of course at the time were not feasible, and still are not now, because the Kurdish situation was very precarious, the judicial authority was almost nonexistent, there was no electoral law, no electoral register, no population census, no law regulating the formation of political parties, and the right of assembly and expression. All these things had to be enacted first before you can have a proper election. And since the enactment of these laws and this census and all this will take some time, the thought that perhaps ... in order to expedite the whole process is to ... select members of an interim council or a coordinator or a Governing Council through an extensive process of consultation, which was done by the Iraqis

more...

http://www.cfr.org/publication.php?id=6141

[teryang]

1. Questions not answered

<...this has been an accusation which we hear a great deal about, ...that the numbers of this Council have been appointed by Mister Bremer. This is not so. The members have been chosen through voluntary consultations among Iraqis...><snip>

<RB: And what does preparing for that Constitutional conference entail? ...how does this process work?...<snip>

<AP: Well, the Constitutional conference is expected to have about 200 members, and ... they will either be elected, which means that we have to delay the elections for some months, in order to prepare all the registration that is necessary, or we can choose the members of this Constitution conference through the same method of extensive consultation among Iraqis, in which the Governing Council will take a leading role, of course.>

So the "consultative" process which is undefined, results in a Governing Council which plays a leading role in a "consultative" process which selects the members of the Constitutional conference. No election required. Then the rump Constitutional draft will be offered to the weary and war torn "registered" voters on a take or leave it basis.

[Wonder]

2. I guess they like to take things "step by step".

she says as she rolls her eyes.!