A symposium on the political parties law: Towards legislating a political parties law that guarantees party pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power.

By attending a crowd of civil political activists, academicians and media, Information Center for Research and Development and Tammuz Organization for Social Development held a seminar on draft law of parties that will be read and voted on in the House of Representatives of Iraq, and under slogan ” Legislation of Parties ensure a Multiparty and the Peaceful Negotiation of Power” on 25th of April.2015 in Baghdad Hotel.

Seminar started by welcoming the attendees, and gave a brief overview on the draft law of parties, especially the presidency has provided another draft containing many previous observations that put forward to the draft submitted by the Cabinet and published by the Iraqi Council of Representatives for discussion.
Many of interventions by attendees and has presented several proposals on the two draft law, which is summarized as follows:
–    Do not join office, which is decided to form for parties, with executive power (Ministry of Justice) or any other institution, and it is better to join to the Supreme Judicial Council. 
–    It is not permissible to establish party on the basis of racism or terrorism or sectarian or racial or national or religious, and this modify on proposed formula in the two draft law in Article 5, firstly. 
–     Either in the field of partisan programs, participants suggested not to force political parties to adopt different programs due to the presence of multiple participants during the current period.
–    Reduce the age of those eligible to establish a political party or be part of the Constituent Assembly to any party, in line with the Constitution, which is gave legal and political right to those who completed 18 years.
–    Amend paragraph of providing the names of members and employees of the political party to the Parties Department considering that it is one of the party peculiarities, and restrict matter by supplying the mentioned office with the names of the founding members only.
–    Delete condition of untie of party in the case of non-participation elections because this is a special matter of political party and have the right to boycott the elections.  Also the role of the political party is not limited to electoral participation, but has other social, political and economic tasks.
–    Review in the paragraphs on financing of the political parties by the state budget including justice and not distinguish among them.
–    Amend condition that there should be the members of any party in the six provinces until they are granted a license to work because of the presence of parties at the local level or work in any one province or more.
–    Modify paragraph that prevent the party activity in the institutions of state and educational and others, including give freedom for the political party to work with equal opportunities for ensuring the independence of institutions.
–    Reduce the special procedures in establish parties, and penal sanctions because it is possible to contribute in the weakness of interact of citizens with the party life.
–    Defining the powers of the Department of the parties and the court of political parties because this is possible to exploit in the future to determine the work of the parties and can not guarantee pluralism.
–    Fix the role of women in the party life through law
–    Adjust and address the issue of the militias’ formation and armed formations of the parties to prevent their appearance again, and restrict arm by the concerned State devices.

It will be issued a detailed report of seminar, and it will also send conclusions and modifications that emerged from the seminar to the Committee of Non-Governmental parliamentary Organizations, for adoption as notes of the law of parties.
In conclusion, the attendees have thanked the two organizations, stressing that the activity of the law of parties will not end in the case of approval in the form is not a guarantee of pluralism and democratic process, but will continue in order to modify it.

 Media Office
Tammuz Organization for Social Development
Information Center for Research and Development
26th of April.2015