1922–1924 Iraqi Constituent Assembly election

Elections to a Constituent Assembly(Arabic:المجلس التأسيسي,al-Majlis al-Ta’seessy) were held inIraqbetween 24 October 1922 and 25 February 1924,electing the country's firstparliament.The Constituent Assembly was elected to draft a constitution, legislate a law for general elections, and ratify theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922.

Background

AfterWorld War I,Iraq was founded as a country under the British administration through amandateissued by theLeague of Nationsin 1920.On 21 November 1920, the first Iraqi government was established,Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillaniwas appointed as the firstPrime Minister of Iraq.In 1921,Faisal Iwas elected asKing of Iraqby theCairo Conference.On 10 October 1922, theAnglo-Iraqi Treatywas signed by the Iraqi and British governments.

Results

The elections used an indirect electoral system, in which the general public (only men over 18 were allowed to vote) elected 383 secondary voters, who in turn elected the 100 deputies of the Assembly.The Assembly convened on 27 March 1924 with the King and British officials attending the opening ceremony. The main political issue at the time was ratifying the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty.There were no formal parties, although those who supported ratifying the Treaty without revisions were considered pro-government and pro-treaty; this bloc was led byAbdul-Muhsin Al-Saadounand Prime MinisterJafar al-Askari.Those who opposed the treaty or sought its revision before ratifying were seen as anti-government; this bloc was led byYasin al-Hashimi.During the first Assembly session, both Al-Saadoun and Al-Hashimi ran for the position of Speaker, with Al-Saadoun winning by a vote of 50–23.The Assembly continued its meetings until 2 August,with the firstgeneral electionsheld the following year.

Aftermath

Despite a strong campaign by the anti-treaty parties, the British administration succeeded in convincing the King and hesitant politicians and deputies to accept the treaty.On 10 June 1924, the assembly convened to vote on theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty.69 deputies attended the meeting and the assembly approved the treaty by a vote of 37–24.