Federalism and provincial authority is already included in the Iraqi Constititution. I guess the senators have not read it.
“Federalism and provincial authority is already included in the Iraqi Constititution. I guess the senators have not read it.”
Well, yes and no. Did you actually read it?
1. “Governorates”, what I call provinces, are not sovereign entities, they are creations of or “authorities” organized by the “federal” government with some local organizing decisions that include a “council” with no specification of how representative that council is, or how it is created.
2. A level in between the provinces and the Federal level is permitted, but is not required, constitutionally, and only in the case of the Kurdish area has that level, a region, been recognized; so far. That level can be created a number of ways and those ways include local and federal representative participation. The results, in non-sectarian terms in a U.S. example would be as if the states were more controlled by the federal government, unless they got together and organized, with federal agreement, into regions, like “New England”, “Pacific”, “Southwest”; etc. Only at that level (for now in the Kurdish area) does an area in Iraq have a constitution, established by the people in that area, for government administration and authority of its own (as long as its not contrary to federal law or authority).
3. Although there is a second representative body mentioned at the federal level (besides the main parliamentary body - Council of Representatives), which is said to include representatives of the governorates (provinces) and/or regions, it appears to be a creature of the authority of the existing Council of Representatives, as it is law passed by it that will specify anything more than the shell (name) that has been given to it (Council of the Federation).
At present, in all but the Kurish area, local government will be affectively organized by and controlled by the “federal government”; not just subject to federal law.