Legislative Institutions in the Middle East

The fate of the establishment, formation, and institutionalization of parliaments in the Middle East is peculiar. Legislative assemblies in the region have a short lifespan. While Iran is set to hold its tenth parliamentary election since the 1979 revolution on March 7, 2024, the parliament has been an inseparable part of Iran's political flow since the beginning of constitutionalism in 1906. However, Egypt may be one of the pioneers in establishing representative assemblies in the Middle East, with its parliaments having a longer history than Iran's. Following the changes resulting from the 2012 Egyptian revolution, the legislative assembly underwent numerous changes. Dr. Ayman Aboul-Ela, a representative of the Egyptian people in their parliament, believes that laws in Egypt are approved and implemented based on democracy and citizens' rights. He explains the electoral process in Egypt, stating, "Egypt is divided into 205 electoral districts from which 428 representatives are elected. Voting is conducted by a free election committee, and candidates can be independent or represent a party. However, the constitution does not allow an independent candidate to suddenly enter the elections representing a party or vice versa, to prevent disputes after entering parliament." In contrast, the Iraqi parliament, as noted by Salah Nasrawi, an Iraqi politician and researcher, plays a more ceremonial role rather than a legislative one and operates weakly compared to other countries in the region: "The Iraqi parliament, according to the constitution, does not have the right to independently approve or propose laws. Laws must be presented to the parliament by the government, after which the parliament acts. One of the parliament's duties is to oversee and address the government's performance. They discuss and review laws presented by the government or the president and have the right to send laws they have issues with to the Iraqi Supreme Court. However, the parliament can question the government or ministers." Kuwait, a small and less populated country on the Persian Gulf, has managed to establish a strong parliament compared to its neighbors despite its short history. In the Kuwaiti parliament, the representatives have a wide scope of action, and legislation, questioning ministers, and overseeing their performance are significant parts of the parliament's activities. Khaled Al-Ali, the head of public relations for the Kuwaiti parliament, states, "Elections in Kuwait are conducted directly. Kuwait is divided into five electoral districts, and the total number of parliament members is 50. A person can elect one representative in their electoral district, and 10 representatives are elected from each district to go to parliament." In Egypt, although the laws have Islamic roots, the parliament operates based on democracy and citizens' law. The parliament also oversees the performance of the country's ministers and can question them when necessary. Ayman Aboul-Ela states, "A clause in the constitution, approved in 2014 and endorsed by a high percentage of the Egyptian people, states that the parliament must approve ministers after they present their programs and views. If ministers are not approved, the majority party or coalition forms the government within 60 days." In Kuwait, all minorities have the right to participate in the parliament and can have a representative there. Khaled Al-Ali mentions that the number of Christians in Kuwait is very small, perhaps less than the number of fingers on one hand, making it somewhat difficult for them to run for office, but they can participate in voting. However, Shia have significant power in the parliament. Out of the 50 members of the Kuwaiti parliament, 5 to 7 are Shia, which is representative of their population ratio. Salah Nasrawi believes that three political parties hold more power in Iraq: "The two religious groups, Shia and Sunni, and the ethnic Kurdish group compete in the Iraqi parliament elections by forming their political blocs. Several other political groups also participate in the elections by forming coalitions with each other." In the Iraqi parliament, one-third of the representatives must be women. However, the issue of women's presence in the Kuwaiti parliament is very recent, and women have only had the opportunity to be elected to this parliament in the past few years. In Egypt, women also hold a special position in the parliament. However, despite the population of women and the number of parliamentary representatives in Iran, the representation of women in the Iranian parliament is very minimal.