ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – With the United States planning to sell more arms to the embattled government in Baghdad, MPs and legal experts remain divided over whether a prime minister who is hanging on to power after the expiration of his term has any right to enter into weapons deals.
Liqa Wardi, MP for the National Coalition which holds the largest number of seats in parliament, said that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not constitutionally entitled to sign arms deals with any country.
“The Iraqi government now is a caretaker government and it absolutely cannot make any deals to buy weapons and aircraft from another country, including Russia and America,” Wardi told Rudaw. “Parliament should take the necessary measures to stop the expenditure of funds in this irresponsible manner to buy weapons for killing the Iraqi people," she said.
Wardi added that since declaring a state of emergency following the fall of Mosul to jihadi-led militants in June, Maliki’s government had wasted millions of dollars on weapons and military equipment. She said the government in Baghdad is considered a caretaker administration because the premier’s term has expired, and that signing weapons deals was regarded as a constitutional violation.
“We in the National Coalition reject the armament contracts of the expired government of Nouri al-Maliki," she said.
Maliki has been defiantly hanging on for a third term in office, despite massive opposition by the Kurds, Sunnis and even some of his own Shiite allies. The political bickering in Baghdad continues as Islamic militants have taken over about a third of the country.
Hana Turki al-Tai, MP for the al-Mustaqilun bloc which is affiliated to the National Alliance, said the current Iraqi government had every right to enter into arms deals. The lawmaker said this was justified because Iraq is going through exceptional circumstances, and there is no alternative.
"Making weapon deals is among the legal prerogatives of the current Iraqi government, even if it was an expired government,” al-Tai said. “Iraq is witnessing a state of war and external aggression, so it was a must for the government of Nouri al-Maliki not to wait too long until the formation of the next government before equipping the Iraqi army with weapons and combat vehicles.”
The United States announced last week it plans to sell Iraq an additional 5,000 Hellfire missiles, in a deal worth 700 million dollars. The missiles are meant to help Baghdad in its war against the Sunni insurgents, who have declared an Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria.
Haitham al-Jinouri, another State of Law MP, said there were no constitutional violations in making arm deals by the current premier.
"Article 100 of the constitution is still valid and allows the prime minister to do what he wants in a state of war,” al-Jinouri said. “Equipping the Iraqi army with weapons and gear is very important and without it the Iraqi army will lose the battle. The Iraqi government will not commit any constitutional violation when arming the Iraqi army.”
Najeebeh Najib Ibrahim, MP for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), opined that arms contracts signed by the present Iraqi government still needed parliamentary approval.
“Making weapon deals should be with the knowledge and consent of the legislative authority of the parliament,” Ibrahim said.
The MP explained that vast sums had been spent on arms purchases from Russia and the Ukraine since 2006, but that the money was wasted because security was not achieved: The Iraqi military collapsed within hours in the face of a jihadi-led advance that began in June.
Legal expert Tariq Harb, meanwhile, said that the government in Baghdad possessed the right to make arms deals without having to go through parliament.
"There is no caretaker government mentioned in the Iraqi constitution, nor an expired government. So, the current Iraqi government is still valid until the formation of a new government. Therefore, the current government has the right to sign arms deals,” Harb explained.
