PROVINCIAL POWERS LAW: NOT QUITE THERE YET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003391

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL POWERS LAW: NOT QUITE THERE YET

REF: A. BAGHDAD 2692

B. BAGHDAD 3323

Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary and comment: More than a month after the
August 26 leaders agreement on the provincial powers law, the
Council of Representatives (CoR) last week sent the latest
draft to the Shura Council for further revision. CoR members
tell us disputed areas remain even in this version. The Prime
Minister, for example, does not like that the current
language fails to grant him the power to remove a governor.
Language on governors' authority over security forces is
bracketed and subject to further debate. The Federal Supreme
Court ruled on questions submitted by the CoR on September
11, but not all of the Court's decisions were incorporated.
Generally, this draft leans in the direction of devolving
more power to the provinces and lowering the threshold
necessary to remove a governor or dissolve a council (from
two-thirds to absolute majority vote). With the CoR in
recess until October 20 and with many offices effectively
closing for the Eid holiday, we do not expect the Shura
Council to complete its review for at least two weeks. End
Summary and Comment.

--------------
Draft Submitted to CoR but Problems Remain
--------------


2. (C) CoR Regions and Governorates committee chair Hashim
al-Ta'ee (Iraqi Islamic Party, Sunni) told us October 2 that
the so-called deputies draft (Draft B) received by the CoR
was problematic and needed further legal and stylistic
revision. (Note: this draft is significantly different from
the earlier version (Draft A) delivered to the deputies
following the August 26 leadership communique and thus
appears to reflect the additional conceptual work done by the
deputies committee. End Note). Al-Ta'ee therefore pulled it
from Speaker Mashadani's office and said he would forward it
(Draft B) to the Shura Council with a committee report
detailing remaining disputed areas, which committee member
Muhammed Amin (Tawafuq independent, Sunni) characterized as
"minor." Committee deputy chair Nada al-Sudany (Dawa party,
Shia) said the draft (Draft B) did not take into account all
of the recent rulings by the Federal Supreme Court on some
constitutional questions. Two committee members disagreed
about whether the deputies would review the draft again after
the Shura Council revision and before it is acted upon in the
CoR. One member argued the deputies would perform a final
review, while another member asserted that the deputies would
only receive notification that the Court resolved remaining
areas of political contention.


3. (C) Ayad Samaraie (Iraqi Islamic Party, Sunni) told us
October 8 that while the leaders had agreed to the draft law
"in principle" on August 26, several parts of the text remain
in dispute. For example, the Prime Minister wants the
authority to dismiss governors, Samaraie said, while CoR
members want to require the PM to request the CoR to act to
remove the Governor. Samarai also said the PM wants to be
able to appoint and remove high-level individuals like
Directors General, an authority which some CoR members
oppose. The current draft (Draft B) appears to go against
the PM's wishes on both points, which led Samaraie to
conclude that Maliki would use the Shura Council to
re-fashion the draft to his liking.

--------------
Federal Supreme Court Rulings May
Help Resolve Remaining Areas of Dispute
--------------


4. (SBU) On September 11, the Federal Supreme Court responded
to several constitutional questions submitted by the Regions
and Governorates committee in July and August. According to
al-Ta'ee, the committee had hoped that the rulings would
resolve several remaining issues still subject to political
dispute. However, the Supreme Court ruled that one key
question was beyond its jurisdiction: the relationship
between the executive authority of the federal government and
the provinces. However, according to al-Ta'ee (but not
included in the incomplete copy of the Court's decision he
provided to us),the Court determined that the Prime Minister
does not have the right to dissolve a provincial council or
remove a governor, that the governor is the highest executive
authority in the province and that the provincial council has
control over the removal of the Provincial Director of Police
(PDOP). According to the incomplete copy we obtained, the

BAGHDAD 00003391 002 OF 003


Court also decided:

-- that the hiring and firing in local security agencies
falls under the jurisdiction of the regions and provinces and
not the federal authority;

-- that the provincial councils may enact local laws to
regulate administrative and financial affairs and that the
Council of Representatives may not enact local laws for a
province;

-- that the allocation of funds to the regions and provinces
falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government in
accordance with Article 121;

-- that provincial councils should adhere to Article 49 and
women should comprise at least one-fourth of the council's
membership.

--------------
Latest Draft Still Not Close to Final
--------------


5. (C) The most recent iteration of the law (Draft B, the one
that we understand is now with the Shura Council) contains
articles that remain subject to political dispute and that in
some cases contradict the Supreme Court's rulings. Selected
provisions in this draft include:

-- the Prime Minister does not have the power to remove a
governor. The PM may propose to the CoR a governor's
removal; the CoR then needs an absolute majority vote to
remove him. A governor may also be removed by an absolute
majority vote of the provincial council (PC) based on a
recommendation of one-third of the PC members. A governor
can appeal removal by applying to the Federal Supreme Court
within 15 days. This draft changes the threshold for removal
from two-thirds vote to only an absolute majority;

-- governors may command federal security forces in case of
emergency but this article remains disputed. It adds new
ambiguous language to the language in the previous draft,
"provided he has the right to do this," and contains, in
brackets, a line that reads "there is another opinion to
delete this article;"

-- provincial and local councils are the highest legislative
and oversight authority within their administrative
boundaries and have the right to pass local laws as long as
they are constitutional. Councils are subject to the
oversight of the CoR;

-- the PCs elect the governor and two deputy governors. The
governor may have five assistants to handle technical and
administrative affairs;

-- Directors General (DGs) may be removed from office by
absolute majority of the PC based on a proposal by the
governor or five members of the PC (the PM may not remove
DGs);

-- district councils shall have at least 10 members and
sub-district councils shall have at least seven members.
Council directors shall be elected by absolute majority vote;

-- the CoR can dissolve a PC by absolute majority vote at the
request of the governor or one-third of the PC's members.
The PC can dissolve a district council by absolute majority
vote at the request of the district mayor, district council
chairman or one-third of the district council.


6. (C) The current draft law adds a brand-new article that
provides for the Baghdad mayor (Ameen Baghdad) to be elected
by the PC after the nomination of three candidates by the
governor and approval of the PC. It provides for his removal
and ranks his position as akin to a Deputy Minister. The
wording suggests that Baghdad's traditional "special status"
as a capital may be weakened by suborning the mayor to the
PC. This article may end up conflicting with Article 124 of
the Iraqi Constitution that calls for "special status" and a
specific Baghdad law.

--------------
What Happens Next
--------------


7. (C) Al-Ta'ee estimated on October 2 that the Shura Council
would need one to two weeks to revise the draft law (Draft

BAGHDAD 00003391 003 OF 003


B). The CoR went into recess for Eid al-Fitr on October 8
and will return on October 20; many Iraqis will be traveling
outside of Baghdad in the interim. Once the Shura Council
returns the law to the CoR, committee member al-Sudany said
she thought one of the committee members would read the
changes to the law on the floor as a third reading (note: the
law had a second reading in February) and then hold a vote.
CoR Deputy Speaker al-Attiya repeated this expectation to the
Ambassador on October 4 (ref b). Post will continue to use
every opportunity to impress upon GOI officials and CoR
members the need for quick action once the CoR reconvenes,
stressing that the credibility of the 3 1 process, and of the
CoR itself, is on the line.
CROCKER