ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Shiite MP from Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc argued that Article 140 of the constitution should be abolished. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution dictates that the status of disputed territories, claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil, must be resolved via a census and referendum “to determine the will of their citizens” before the end of 2007. It has never been implemented. "I am saying that there is no such thing as disputed territories. Such a phrase is used between two states. We have one state. There will be disagreement concerning borders, but there are no disputes. Dispute between who and who? If the region is a part of Iraq, it needs to have an understanding with the centre,” Kahalf Abdulsamad, member of the Shiite State of Law bloc, told Rudaw. The MP believes the constitution contains many mistakes that ought to be rectified: “We require a majority government to amend many of the articles of the constitution that have resulted in instability in Iraq." Former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, head of the Dawa party, the largest within the State of Law alliance, has also stressed the importance of forming a majority government, arguing it will be able to govern more effectively than the current coalition-based administration. A recent Iraqi federal court decision said that a committee should be formed to resolve the matter of the disputed territories, in line with Article 140. “The Kurdistan Regional Government is recognized as the official government of those areas it administered prior March 19, 2003 that fall within the boundaries of the provinces Duhok, Erbil, Sulaimani, Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala,” reads an official statement by the court on March 11. The province of Kirkuk and areas of Diyala and Nineveh remain disputed. “Concluding this matter will be via a formed committee, based on Article 140 of the constitution,” the court stated. “This is an answer to those who say that Kirkuk and the 140 article are finished," Amin Bakir, head of Gorran's faction in the Iraqi parliament, told journalists on Thursday.
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