Al-Hakim: Iraq's political system is on the verge of collapse

Shafaq News/ The leader of al-Hekmah movement, Ammar al-Hakim, on Saturday warned that the Iraqi political system might falter under the pressure of the challenges facing the country since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Al-Hakim's remarks came in a speech he delivered during a memorial service for the chairperson of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, on the 20th anniversary of his assassination in Baghdad.

"The executive authority cannot function without an effective and influential political and parliamentary backing," he said, "similarly, a legislative authority cannot monitor and rectify without a balanced government interaction and cooperation."

Al-Hakim warned that "our political system would not hold for long if we fail to unite against the challenge. The political shakeups we might have to endure might be more violent than anything we have witnessed over the past twenty years."

The Shiite cleric said that the malleability of a political system for change is proportional to the solidity and cohesion of the country's political stability, stressing that the people show more commitment to the constitutions and laws that resonate with their reality.

"We all know that the constitution was drafted under extraordinary circumstances marred with qualms that had accumulated throughout years of despotism, dictatorship, and ostracism. That has a visible impact on the nature of some constitutional articles," he said.

Al-Hakim said it became imperative to "review certain articles of the constitution" in light of the cumulative experience in politics and the "structural problems" the political fundaments of Iraq suffer from.

"Iraq still lacks a fair and unified election law that is immune to the fluctuations of the political mood," he continued, "we still lack the mechanisms that control federalism and its practical implications in the ties between the federal and regional governments."

"We still lack a unified military creed," he added, "we continue to lack the policy of bridging the trust gap between the people and the government."

Al-Hakim said that Iraq, unlike the nearby countries stricken by economic crises, has "internal solutions that do not require external cooperation" for its problems.

"All we need is an accurate identification of our priorities, determination, and patience to achieve our goals," he said.