1939 Iraqi parliamentary election

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Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 29 April 1939 to elect the members of the Chamber of Deputies.[1][2]

Background

Following pressure from army generals and

vote of no confidence. King Ghazi stepped in and dissolved the Parliament on 23 February 1939. In March, al-Said declared that there was a plot to depose Ghazi and assassinate key political leaders. The plot was linked to Bakr Sidqi
's loyalists; al-Said used the incident to carry out a purge of army officers and leftist groups.

On 4 April 1939 Ghazi died in a car accident.

'Abd al-Ilah
as regent. Many were doubtful about the accuracy of this statement. However, based on her testimony, Parliament elected Abd al-Ilah as regent. The decision was strongly supported by al-Said, who considered Abd al-Ilah an ally. It had previously been decided that fresh elections should be held in the spring of 1939 and al-Said saw this as an opportunity to consolidate power.

Results

Following the elections on 29 April, the new parliament convened on 12 June with al-Said's bloc having won an absolute majority.[1][2] Al-Said remained Prime Minister and succeeded in introducing regulations that gave the executive branch more power.[9] The regulations enabled the government to censor the media, request supplies, and issue decrees and administrative regulations without parliamentary approval.

Aftermath

At the beginning World War II, the al-Said government severed relations with Germany, removed German officials from Baghdad and allowed British forces to use Iraqi lands in accordance with the Anglo-Iraqi treaty. However, it did not declare war on Germany to maintain neutrality.[7][4][9] These measures aggravated the opposition, which considered this policy to be pro-British and a breach of Iraq's neutrality.

Political tension was rising and al-Said was forced to resign. Under pressure from army generals, a coalition government was formed by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani on 18 February 1940.[4][7][8][9][10] The new government adopted a foreign policy that was less favorable to Britain, and to some extent more sympathetic to Germany. However, al-Gaylani was forced to resign by the regent and al-Said, and a more moderate government was formed by Taha al-Hashimi on 3 February 1941. This government did not last for long, and on 1 April an ultra-nationalist group of army generals overthrew the government in a coup d'état, subsequently forming a military government headed by al-Gaylani. Abd al-Ilah and al-Said both fled Baghdad. Parliament convened and elected Al-Sharif Sharaf to replace Abd al-Ilah as regent.[11][12] Tensions soon escalated between the al-Gaylani government and the United Kingdom, which led to the Anglo-Iraqi War.[4][7][8][9][10] British forces occupied Baghdad by the end of May and Abd al-Ilah and al-Said returned to Iraq. Parliament reinstated Abd al-Ilah as a regent. A few months later, al-Said formed a new government, which remained in power until June 1944.

References

  1. ^ a b "من ذاكرة التاريخ: اسرار مقتل الملك غازي". Ahewar الحوار المتمدن. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  2. ^ a b "نوري السعيد رجل المهمات البريطانية الكبرى ـ الحلقة السابعة". AlWatan Voice. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  3. ^ Al-Hassani, Abdul Razzaq (1952). History of Iraq Governments vol 5, pp44-45 تاريخ الوزارات العراقية في العهد الملكي.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cole, Juan. "Iraq in 1939: British Alliance or Nationalist Neutrality toward the Axis?". Britain and the World. 5 (2). Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  5. ^ "عباس الخفاجي: كيف أصبح عبد الأله وصيا على عرش العراق؟". Rai AlYaoum. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  6. ^ "في ذكرى مصرع الملك غازي 4 نيسان 1939 .. الاسرة المالكة وفاجعة مقتل الملك". Algardenia.
  7. ^ a b c d Al-Hassani, Abdul Razzaq (1952). History of Iraq Governments Vol 5 تاريخ الوزارات العراقية في العهد الملكي.
  8. ^ a b c "Iraq (1932-Present)". University of Central Arkansas — UCA.
  9. ^ a b c d "Iraq: Legal History and Traditions". Library of Congress.
  10. ^ a b Simons, Geoff (2002). "The Impact of Western Imperialism in Iraq, 1798-1963". Global Policy Forum.
  11. ^ "كيف اختير الشريف شرف وصياً بدلا من عبد الإلـه". Almada. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019.
  12. ^ Al-Hassani, Abdul Razzaq (2008). Modern Political History of Iraq (Vol 3) تاريخ العراق السياسي الحديث. Beirut: Al-Rafidain.
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