Parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties.
Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution. But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities.
According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.
The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad. —