The constitutional amendments can only be done with the consent of the Iraqi people, an MP from the Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) stated today.

Mohsen Saddun's remark came in response to Iraqiya List MP Raad al-Dahlaki who said that Article 140 is no longer valid constitutionally.

Dahlaki said that the constitution has set the deadline for Article 140 which ended in 2007, and urged the Presidency of the Council of Representatives to examine the article along many others for amendments.

Saadun, head of the specialized committee for article 140, said the political blocs at the Council of Representatives propose the constitutional amendments and submit them to the Presidency of the Council to be finally issued to the public for referendum.

He added "the political blocs cannot in effect make the constitutional amendment except with the consent of the Iraqi people."

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution sets a roadmap for ending the dispute between Baghdad and Erbil governments over the ownership of the ethnically diverse areas like Kirkuk province and parts of Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh provinces.

The article had to be fully implemented by end of 2007 but the related officials have failed in finishing the first stage of the three stages the article has set forward.

The article proposes resettling the original residents of the disputed areas and reimbursing their damages as well as resettling the Arab settlers in their original areas, conducting a public census and finally conducting a public referendum for people to decide on being run by Baghdad or Erbil governments.














AKnews