Kurdish Election Institute representative Aram Cemal stated that the lack of a democratic constitution has been a major problem in South Kurdistan, and called on Masoud Barzani to decide whether he will be Mandela, Mubarak or Bashar al-Assad.
Kurdish Election Institute representative Aram Cemal said that Barzani should decide if he will be Mandela, Mubarak or Bashar al-Assad.
Kurdish Election Institute representative Aram Cemal who spoke to ANF stated that the lack of a democratic constitution has been a major problem in South Kurdistan, and called on Masoud Barzani to decide whether he will be Mandela, Mubarak or Bashar al-Assad. Cemal stated that the draft report of the Parliament’s Constitution Commission should be shared with the public in order to facilitate social participation in this process.
‘WE INTRODUCED 16 BILLS IN THE PARLIAMENT’
Cemal stated that as the Election Institute, they have introduced 16 bills in the parliament so far and did their best to improve the parliament’s functions. Cemal said that in order to do this, they often make criticisms and offer alternatives. With the goal of institutionalizing democracy, the Election Institute sent 16 bills through 10 parliamentarians to the president of the parliament.
‘PARLIAMENT MUST LISTEN TO EVERYBODY’
Cemal said that their efforts were ignored, and called upon the parliament to not only listen to the institute but also all other non-governmental organizations. Aram Cemal stated that the Constitution Preparation Committee should have included people from different social groups, and this method has been widely used in other countries such as Iraq. Cemal reminded that there has not been a process of constitution preparation in Kurdish federal region since 1999 due to the disagreements among different political groups. However, Cemal praised the establishment of the current constitution preparation commission composed of 21 people.
‘EXPERTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE CONSTITUTION PREPARATION PROCESS’
In his criticism of the constitution preparation process, Cemal underlined the need for including experts. Cemal emphasized the need for social inclusion in such processes and gave the example of consulting women’s organizations before the drafting of related constitutional articles. Cemal highlighted the need for addressing the ideas, criticisms and proposals of all members of the society in this process.
'KIRKUK MUST HAVE A CONCRETE PLACE IN THE CONSTITUTION'
Cemal described the future and the status of Kirkuk as inevitable, and said that Kirkuk must have a concrete place in the constitution. Cemal recalled the Kurdish control in the city composed of many religious and ethnic groups, and said that the views of these groups and non-governmental organizations could no longer be ignored.
‘MASSOUD BARZANI SHOULD DECIDE IF HE WILL BE MANDELA, MUBARAK OR ESSAD’
Kurdish Election Institute representative Aram Cemal made striking statements on the widely debated topic of regional presidency in South Kurdistan, and said that Barzani should decide if he will be Mandela, Mubarak or Assad. Cemal emphasized the need for determining what kind of a system will be implemented in the region, and asked if they were going to implement a pluralist and participatory democratic system or the rule of a single person.
Cemal invited Massoud Barzani to publicly announce on television that he would not run in elections, in case a presidential system is to be implemented. Cemal said that the regional president could be Mandela, but also Mubarak or Assad. Cemal ended his statement by saying that they would prefer Barzani to choose the path of Mandela but the decision was Barzani’s to make.
