Laws lag in Iraq, as patience wears thin

Popular support for Iraq's democratic institutions is being undermined steadily by official corruption, yet the country has no comprehensive anticorruption law. The country's economy is dependent almost entirely upon oil revenue, but because there is no single law regulating the industry, there is widespread confusion about investment, production and lines of authority. And parts of northern Iraq continue to be beset by ethnic and sectarian violence that could engulf the rest of the country in a new wave of warfare, but there is little prospect of a political resolution being offered any time soon to settle competing claims in the disputed province of Kirkuk. There is a growing concern that if the country's Parliament does not soon approve a series of critical legislative measures, Iraq's democratic experiment could erode as America pulls back, militarily and politically. By the end of this month, the United States is required to withdraw combat troops from Iraq's cities and, by the end of 2011, from the entire country. Some legislation that could help strengthen and diversify the economy has been awaiting passage in Parliament for as long as three years, even as large numbers of Iraqis live in poverty and without adequate housing, health care and other basic needs. "If there was decent electricity and clean drinking water, there might be more patience from people," said Haider Ala Hamoudi, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, who has advised the Iraqi government on legal issues. "But on some of these laws, especially the ones that aren't controversial, Parliament has to do something or it risks losing legitimacy." Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who some members of Parliament blame for holding up several bills, has become so frustrated with the slow pace that he has began to lobby publicly for a switch to a presidential system, including holding direct elections for the nation's leader. "Parliament's system of democratic consensus is strange, conflicts with democracy and has many inherent problems," Mr. Maliki said recently. "I think the presidential system is better than the parliamentary system if it will be accountable to the people." Elected in 2005 as Iraq's first democratic national legislature, Parliament's inaugural class was entrusted with leading the nation to a firm footing as a representative democracy. Instead, the body has become a source of frustration in the country and something of an embarrassment, even to some of its members. A member's salary and benefits–worth about $125,000 annually–are more than 20 times that of the average Iraqi. Not only have its members been accused of being badly out of touch, but the body is far better known among Iraqis for listlessness and sectarian squabbling than for passing laws. "Parliament hasn't worked hard to send people the message that they are pushing the government to do its best to improve services," said Sami al-Atroshi, a Kurdish member of Parliament. "Ordinary people have a right to feel negatively about us." Among the crucial measures waiting to be enacted is the hydrocarbons law, also known as the gas and oil law. Without rules governing the extraction of its huge oil reserves, it has been difficult for Iraq to attract foreign investment to its petroleum industry, which accounts for 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Another critical bill would impose disclosure rules on political parties, which are currently allowed to accept donations of any size without reporting the source, leading to accusations that some of Iraq's leading Shiite political organizations are financed by Iran. There is legislation that would grant additional powers to the country's president; provide for revenue sharing between the central government and the provinces; and possibly engineer a political solution for the disputed province of Kirkuk. Also languishing are statutes regarding foreign investment, the environment, elections, price fixing, political corruption, consumer protection, intellectual property rights, building codes and even the design of a new national flag. The laws are so pivotal and the ethnic and sectarian issues surrounding them so intractable that some members say Parliament should not take them up at all. Others believe that most, if not all, of the contentious legislation should wait until after parliamentary elections in January. "Some of these things are bigger than the current Parliament and the current government can deal with," said Sheik Mohammed al-Hemedawi, a Shiite member of Parliament, who said some of the bills could spark new sectarian and ethnic violence. "We will thank God if we are able to do some of it, but all of it together is too much for us." American officials, who have sometimes stepped in to broker peace between warring blocs, had hoped Parliament could move the country to post-sectarianism. But all too often disputes culminate in walkouts by groups of Shiite or Sunnis or Kurdish lawmakers. A chief problem is that members lack the confidence to make compromises in the national interest, and they instead focus on scoring points with their sectarian and ethnic bases. The result is often a political standstill. Sessions frequently dissolve into desk-pounding protests, fistfights, resignations and even demands that the body vote to disband itself. For a time, even quorums were difficult to achieve because members spent months outside the country. The former speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, once described his colleagues as "thugs, spies and lawmakers who never show up to Parliament." In recent weeks, the new speaker, Ayad al-Sammaraie, from the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, has sought to animate Parliament by focusing on its role as a watchdog on the government of Mr. Maliki. The body had a rare victory earlier this month when Falah al-Sudani, the country's trade minister, resigned after being summoned to Parliament to answer questions about allegations of corruption in his ministry. Mr. Sammaraie recently acknowledged that Parliament had been too slow to pass legislation. He pinned some blame on the prime minister's office for abruptly withdrawing some bills, which has resulted in delays, but said much of the fault lay with Parliament itself. "We need to enact laws," he said. For now, the aims remain modest. Umer al-Mashhadani, a spokesman for Sammaraie, said one goal was to restore live television broadcasts of Parliament's sessions. The meetings have been broadcast on tape delay after officials decided that Parliament's arguments, charges and countercharges had dangerously roused sectarian tensions among the public. Some members defended Parliament, saying that much of its work had been hampered by violence, including a 2007 suicide bomb attack in Parliament's cafeteria that killed eight people, including two members of Parliament. "We were working in a very tense period when we were routinely threatened when we left our houses," said Mr. Hemedawi, the Shiite member of Parliament. "We weren't sure if we would come back home. But now, things are better. We are proud to have built the new Iraq."