MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis - 27. August 2004

The Iraqi National Congress - an Exercise in Democracy

Introduction In the midst of threats of violence and terrorism by elements committed to destabilizing Iraq, approximately 1,300 delegates, representing a wide range of Iraq's political, religious, tribal, and ethnic groups, attended the opening of the National Congress on August 15 to lay the foundations for a democratic country. The convening of the Congress was the second step toward restoring Iraqi sovereignty, after the first step of establishing the interim government on June 28.

The Congress, held under the auspices of the United Nations special representative Ashraf J. Qadhi (a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S.), was initially scheduled to conclude its work in three days. However, because of the crisis in Najaf involving Muqtada Al-Sadr, which cast a pall over the conference, the meeting was extended for a fourth day. The meeting concluded with the selection of 81 individuals to join the 19 former members of the defunct Iraq Governing Council (IGC) to form a body of 100 delegates who will act as an interim National Assembly (parliament) until elections are held in early 2005. The National Assembly is intended to serve as an advisory rather than legislative body and is scheduled to meet for the first time on September 1.

Den ausführlichen Bericht zu den Verhandlungen des irakischen Nationalkongresses über Themen wie Parteienlandschaft, Wiederaufbau, Sicherheit oder Menschenrechte finden Sie auf unserer amerikanischen Homepage unter: http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA18704

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