IHEC urges law calling referendum on SOFA

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Wednesday said that he submitted a letter to the Iraqi Parliament’s presidency calling for a law that requires a referendum on the security agreement with the United States. “We also requested the Parliament to allocate a budget for this purpose,” Faraj al-Haidari told IraqiNews.com news agency. “We called on the council to pass the legislation in a matter of five days so we can hold the referendum on time,” he added. On November 27, 2008, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a security agreement with the United States, known as the Status-of-Forces Agreement, or SOFA, just 10 days after the Iraqi cabinet approved it with an overwhelming majority. The agreement stipulated that a public referendum should be held in July 2009. “A budget of $90 million U.S. dollars is enough to fund the referendum,” Haidari added. SS (P)/SR 1