No constitutional base for public referendum on pact – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com : The Iraqi parliament’s first deputy speaker, Sheikh Khalid al-Attiya, on Sunday said that Iraq’s constitution and the Iraqi council of representatives’ internal regulations do not require a public referendum on the Iraqi-U.S. security pact. “The pact’s enactment is attributed to the legislative authority and Presidential Board,” al-Attiya told IraqiNews.com. He explained that voting on the pact in Parliament would follow the same rules that were implemented when other international agreements were ratified. MH (P)/SR 1