Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Sunni and secular parties reject draft oil law
Politics, Oil
(Voices of Iraq) The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) and former Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National Slate objected the debate of a draft law on oil and gas on the agenda of the Iraqi Parliament's session on Monday. Hussein al-Falluji, an IAF member of parliament, said "we believe that the time is not right for dealing with this issue. We should, above all, deal with security matters before debating this draft."
"Socio-political and security circumstances do not allow such a step now, as the draft would allow investment companies to re-wield power over Iraqi oil," Falluji, who belongs to the third largest parliamentary bloc, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Monday. In an ordinary session earlier on Monday, the Iraqi Parliament debated a draft law on investment in crude oil and delayed the second reading of a draft law on regulating frequencies, as it was correlated with the law on provinces.
The quorum for last Tuesday’s parliamentary session was not reached, prompting members to turn it into a "consultative session" in which they debated a mechanism for the Iraqi legislative house during the coming period. Iraq's parliament is composed of 275 members. The quorum necessary to convene sessions is half the members plus one (139 members).
"Socio-political and security circumstances do not allow such a step now, as the draft would allow investment companies to re-wield power over Iraqi oil," Falluji, who belongs to the third largest parliamentary bloc, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Monday. In an ordinary session earlier on Monday, the Iraqi Parliament debated a draft law on investment in crude oil and delayed the second reading of a draft law on regulating frequencies, as it was correlated with the law on provinces.
The quorum for last Tuesday’s parliamentary session was not reached, prompting members to turn it into a "consultative session" in which they debated a mechanism for the Iraqi legislative house during the coming period. Iraq's parliament is composed of 275 members. The quorum necessary to convene sessions is half the members plus one (139 members).
COMMENT: One of the benchmarks al-Maliki had to commit to with the U.S. for them to maintain their presence in Iraq was to complete the oil law. This will now have to wait and will be further delayed, straining al-Maliki's relationship with the U.S. The original deadline was Dec 31. The latest is July 1. Foreign companies will also be hesitant to invest in Iraq before the law is passed. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: draft oil law, Hussein al-Falluji, Iraqi Accordance Front, Iyad Allawi, parliament
