Legal ruling complicates provincial politics

A new ruling by an adjudicating body on what constitutes an absolute majority could have major ramifications for the outcomes of efforts to form local governments in at least four provinces.

The State Council issued a ruling this week on what constitutes an absolute majority in the province of Wasit. The State Council is an independent body that is responsible for interpreting laws at the request of state entities. The provincial powers law requires an absolute majority of provincial council members in order to establish quorum and thereby elect a new local government.

A request was submitted to the State Council by Wasit province, which has 15 provincial council seats, to clarify how many seats are required to establish quorum. The State Council issued an unorthodox ruling, stating that 9 seats constituted an absolute majority rather than 8 seats. The State Council’s reasoning was that half of 15 is 7.5, which should be rounded up to 8, before adding an additional seat to make 50+1.