Baghdad: Legal expert and consultant, Salem Hawas, emphasized that the upcoming parliamentary session, scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, must decisively elect the Speaker of Parliament and his two deputies without any extension or leaving the session open.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Hawas stated that the Constitution provides a clear path that allows no room for interpretation, emphasizing that the concept of an ‘open session’ is not grounded in the Constitution or the law and is absent from the Council’s Rules of Procedure. He described it as a newly introduced practice that undermines constitutional entitlements and opens the door to obstruction and political bargaining.
Hawas further explained that the lack of explicit provisions imposing criminal or financial penalties for violating this process does not make it permissible. He emphasized that the Constitution should be upheld not just through the logic of punishment but by adhering to principles of commitment and constitutional duty.
He highlighted that leaving the session without resolving the parliamentary presidency issue constitutes a breach of constitutional responsibility and established parliamentary norms. This situation places the oldest member presiding over the session and the Council members under political and moral accountability, even in the absence of direct legal sanctions.
Hawas added that the real penalty in such cases is not legal but moral, historical, political, and media-related, which he described as more serious than any written sanction. He stressed that history does not forget those who obstruct constitutional entitlements, media does not spare those who violate the spirit of the Constitution, and public opinion does not forgive those who transform parliament from a legislative institution into an arena of obstruction.
He concluded by stating that respecting the first session and resolving its presidency is a test of the state’s authority before it is a test of constitutional texts. Anyone who fails this test, Hawas warned, will bear the consequences before the people and history.