Agreement on Political Process

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search

On 15 November 2003, the Agreement on Political Process was signed by the L. Paul Bremer for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq, and Jalal Talabani, on behalf of the "American-appointed" Iraqi Governing Council. The Agreement provided for:

  • "Drafting and approval of Fundamental Law to be complete by February 28, 2004."
  • "The Transitional National Assembly will be elected no later than May 31, 2004."
  • "By June 30, 2004 the new transitional administration will be recognized by the Coalition, and will assume full sovereign powers for governing Iraq. The CPA will dissolve."
  • "Elections for a new Iraqi government will be held by December 31, 2005, at which point the Fundamental Law will expire and a new government will take power."

15 November 2003: "Iraqi Governing Council and Coalition Provisional Authority timetable on Iraq. 'Iraq's Sovereignty to Be Restored by June 30, 2004'":

"The Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq (CPA) agreed November 15 on a process to hand over power to a transitional government in Iraq no later than July 2004.

"The 'Agreement on Political Process', signed by CPA Administrator Paul Bremer and Jalal Talabani on behalf of the Governing Council, gives a timeline for steps the two political entities will take to establish a 'Fundamental Law' for the country, make security arrangements, and form a Transitional National Assembly.

"According to the agreement, the Assembly is to be elected by May 31, 2004, and the Governing Council will be dissolved upon its establishment. Also, the CPA will disband by June 30, 2004, when the Assembly is due to assume 'full sovereign powers for governing Iraq.'

"The agreement also stipulates that delegates to a constitutional convention be elected by the Iraqi people by March 15, 2005. The agreement says the transitional phase would end with a popular referendum to ratify the new constitution, and the election of a new Iraqi government by December 31, 2005."


Other Related SourceWatch Resources

Iraqi Democratization Issues to be/currently being Resolved in the New Iraq

External links

  • 14 November 2003: "Won't Run, Will Bug Out" by Molly Ivins, AlterNet: "Now we're going to bug out before next year's election, Paul Bremer has been called in for an emergency confab, troops must be down to 105,000 by spring. The CIA, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, has sent a report from Baghdad saying the whole thing's going south. We're back to bombing Baghdad. Forget a constitution, we have to hand it all over to the Iraqis right away. ... I'm glad all this bug-out stuff is coming from the administration - if some liberal said it, we'd all be accused of treason." (See Treating dissent as treason for reference.)
  • Rami Khouri, Reviewing Iraq's Shiny New Democratic Blueprint, Pacific News Service, November 19, 2003.
  • Rami G. Khouri, From Idaho to Baghdad and back: End colonial adventures, Lebanonwire.com, November 19, 2003.