Iraq
Country in SW Asia, bounded N by Turkey, E by Iran, SE by the Persian
Gulf and Kuwait, S by Saudi Arabia, and W by Jordan and Syria.
Government
The 1970 constitution, amended 1973, 1974, 1980, and 1988, provides
for a president who is head of state, head of government, and
chair of a Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). Day-to-day administration
is under the control of a council of ministers over which the
president also presides.
The president is also regional secretary of the Arab Ba'ath
Socialist Party which, although not the only political party in
Iraq, so dominates the country's institutions as to make it virtually
a one-party state. There is a 250-member national assembly, elected
by universal suffrage for a four-year term, but ultimate power
lies with the president.
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