Iraqi Elections and Constitutional Law

The Iraqi constitution requires elections to be held by January 16th, 2010. It was largely expected that the January 16th deadline would be met, until the Vice President of Iraq, Tariq al-Hashemi, vetoed an integral election law.

The Vice President reasoned that the would-be election law failed to represent Iraqis abroad.
Some say the veto itself was unconstitutional, since it was an action that obstructs Iraq’s constitutional obligations. What American law and Iraqi law have in common, is that the authority to govern stems from the country’s constitution. Theoretically, governments have no legitimate power in the absence of a constitution.

What is the Iraqi government to do if it does not meet the election deadline?

Jalal Talabani, the President of Iraq, has expressed major concerns that the deadline’s expiration will leave the Iraqi government with no authority to do its job. Members of the Iraqi Parliament, who are often lawyers, recognize the necessity of a constitution that is current.
As such, Parliamentarians who oppose the new election law might be putting their jobs on the line. Others in Iraq downplayed the seriousness of the Vice President’s veto, pointing to the ease with which the proposed election law can be amended.

In fact, following the Vice President’s veto, the Iraqi parliament convened an emergency session. Here, the parliament finally approved a law to hold elections early next year.
Nonetheless, meeting the January 16th deadline seems unlikely.

This has aroused some concern in the United States, because failing to hold elections may further complicate a troop-withdrawal planned for early next year.