12 October 2006
The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial law which sets out the procedures for the country’s 18 provinces to hold referendums to merge themselves into larger federal regions with a measure of self government.
Although the powers of the autonomous regions would include signing their own oil deals with international oil companies, they would have to wait until 2008 when the new law goes into effect.
The law, backed by some Shiite majority leaders who have been keen to set up a big, autonomous region in their oil-rich south, was passed in a session boycotted by the Accordance Front, the largest political bloc of the Sunni minority. Legislators loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the smaller Shiite Fadhila Party also stayed away from Wednesday’s vote, showing Shiite support for federalism is not unanimous.
All 138 lawmakers present approved the law — in a vote broadcast live on state television — giving the bill’s supporters the barest possible majority of the total 275 members of the House.
The reform has proved extremely controversial, with some leaders fearing that it could lead to the breakup of Iraq, but lawmakers have agreed that no province can begin the merger process for another 18 months.
Once the moratorium has passed, provinces seeking to merge with neighboring areas can trigger a referendum at the request of one-third of the legislators in the provincial council or one-tenth of their electorate. If approved by a majority of voters in the provinces concerned, the mergers will create super-provinces with more autonomy from Baghdad.
The new law will have a direct impact on the management of Iraq’s oil and gas sector, including production, reserves management and foreign investments. An Iraqi government committee is currently drafting a national hydrocarbon law to regulate the oil and gas industry before it is submitted to the cabinet and parliament for approval.
The first consequence of the new federal law is confirming the de facto self-rule already enjoyed by the Kurdish north. The regional government in Erbil has already signed a few upstream deals with foreign companies and has drafted its own petroleum law which is expected to be approved by the Kurdish regional parliament this month, drawing ire from Baghdad.
The biggest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, proposes merging nine of Iraq’s 18 provinces into one autonomous region in the Shiite south which would encompass many of Iraq’s giant oil fields awaiting development.
The law is opposed by some in the minority Sunni community, however, who fear that their group, which once dominated Iraqi government, will be left only with a rump territory in the barren west and center of the country. Sunnis, dominant under Saddam Hussein, want amendments to the constitution to guarantee the sharing of oil revenues.
It also not clear what will happen to Baghdad under federal rule. The city’s population is a volatile mix of Kurds, Shiite Arabs and Sunni Arabs, and is already in the grip of a vicious sectarian conflict.
Hostility between rival communities over federalism — one of postwar Iraq’s most sensitive issues — is threatening the ability of the four-month-old national unity government to rein in mounting sectarian and ethnic violence. Not surprisingly, Sunni leaders were quick to denounce the vote.
“We oppose this law. It is deemed to be a ready recipe for division. The time is not suitable,” said Salman al-Jumaili from National Concord Front, the largest Sunni parliamentary bloc.
By Ruba Husari, Dubai
(Published in International Oil Daily October 12, 2006)