inextricably linked to the substance of the matter ,i.e. the people's selection of the persons whom they consider more eligible for acting as their representatives in the practice of democracy and in the building of a new society.

The institution of the National Assembly in Iraq has, in many respects, been regarded as the culmination of the Iraqis aspirations for laying a fairly solid basis of democracy that can best assimilate the distinct way of life in Iraq.

Parliamentary life in Iraq discontinued from 1958 to 1968 owing to the unstable political conditions and to the internal disputes between political powers and the governments of that time on the one hand and between political powers outside the government on the other.

With the inception of the July Revolution of 1968,however, fundamental development has manifested itself in the emergence of a multi-party and multi-press system from 1970 to 1978 in which the Communist Party, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and a number of Naserite and Nationalist Parties took part.

Although the Iraq-Iran war(80-88) had had a profoundly adverse effect on the political life in Iraq, yet the political leadership did not allow the war to hinder the progress of democratic practice in the country, and as a consequence, it decided to resume the parliamentary experience after a long interruption.

It so followed that the National Assembly's Law,No.55 of 1980 was passed and was afterwards consolidated by a number of legislations which expanded the Assembly's scope of legislative control over the state’s various organs. Moreover, Law No.26 of 1995 , has authorized the Assembly to give advice to the President of the Republic. As a result, the practice of the National Assembly in Iraq, from 1980 up to 2000,has been, on the whole ,a successful democratic experience . It has materialized the people’s passionate desire for expressing their thoughts both freely and effectively, necessary to keep pace with all the developments in the many features of the society under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein (May God bless and protect him).

For this reason and for guaranteeing a successful democratic practice, the National Assembly's Law contains, among other things, conditions relating to both electors and candidate members and age 18 is the minimum for the electors.

In addition, the Law has given women the opportunity to participate in both voting and running for election on par with men, which is an advanced step compared with similar experiences in the world.

On 20 June 1980,the first parliamentary election took place in Iraq.

A supreme committee was formed to supervise the process of elections.

Some 840 candidates including 16 women competed to win the 250 seats of the Assembly. This figure was so calculated that each member represents 50 thousand citizens of each constituency throughout the country. After the election results were announced, the National Assembly was called to convene in pursuance of a Presidential Decree promulgated on 30 July 1980.

Relation of National Assembly with Arab Parliaments

The National Assembly of Iraq, since its first term in 1980 and up to the present day, has maintained closer parliamentary relations with Arab Parliaments. Several mutual meetings and visits have been made with them, as a result of which, many cooperation agreements and joint statements have been signed. Also the dialogue and exchange of opinions with such parliaments have greatly contributed to bringing about a unified Arab stand towards different parliamentary issues at both Arab and international levels. On the other hand, the National Assembly of Iraq has constantly issued a number of statements in support of any Arab country exposed to a crisis.

Relation of National Assembly with Foreign Parliaments.

The National Assembly has maintained continuous relations with many foreign parliaments, as a result of which there were many mutual visits between the two sides on the level of National Assemblies Speakers as well as on the level of the delegations representing them. The exchange of visits has led to reaching identical on viewpoints and coordination at international parliaments necessary for winning the support of these parliaments on the issues put to them for discussion. Also, these mutual visits have resulted in concluding a large number of agreements and joint statements between the two sides.

Relation of National Assembly with International Parliamentary Union

The National Assembly was admitted to the membership of the Inter Parliamentary Union in 1980 and has since taken part in about 38 international conferences. In view of the fact that, the period of the emergence of the National Assembly had witnessed many great events relating to Iraq and the Arab Nation, the National Assembly played an active role at these conferences.

The Assembly put forward the question of the Iraq-Iran war explaining Iraq’s right and the justice of its cause in defence of its sovereignty and of its people’s dignity in the face of the racial expansionist ambitions of the Iranian regime.

The delegations representing the Assembly succeeded in passing resolutions in support of Iraq and in commending its positive responsible attitude, its commitment to the Security Council ceasefire resolutions and its readiness to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the problem .The delegations also, through their papers, played an outstanding role in explaining the impact of the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990 on cultural, social, health and economic fields .They contributed to communicating Iraq’s voice at international parliaments and to explaining the facts which the western media try to conceal from the public opinion. As a result, these parliaments began to urge their governments to work for lifting the sanctions imposed on the people of Iraq.

Similarly, the Assembly delegations proposed a number of draft resolutions for the items on the agenda of those conferences together with incorporating additional ones relating to Iraq and the Arab world.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------