Masum instructs Abadi to remove constitutional ‘violations’ from budget law

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi President Fuad Masum has asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to amend the 2018 draft budget bill as it contains a number of constitutional violations including an attempt to derecognize the Kurdistan Regional Government, according to an official letter.

The budget bill makes use of “unconstitutional” words like “provinces of the Region,” “the regions,” and “provinces of the Kurdistan Region,” reads the undated letter, a copy of which was obtained by Rudaw.

Masum demanded that only “the Kurdistan Region... as mentioned in the constitution” be used and all other wordings be deleted from the bill.

The letter also explains that the Iraqi government must allocate a “just share” of the budget to the KRG in such a way that reflects the Region’s “resources, needs, and its population.”

The Iraqi constitution stipulates that “The President of the Republic... safeguards the commitment to the Constitution.”

Abadi had earlier defended the official use of the phrase “provinces of the Kurdistan Region.”

"There are provinces in the Kurdistan Region," he said in a press conference in November. He added though that the official name, "Kurdistan Region," remains in place.

The 2018 budget has been a contentious item, reflecting strained relations between Erbil and Baghdad.

Kurdish and Sunni MPs boycotted a Wednesday session of the Iraqi parliament that was supposed to discuss the draft budget bill. Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri stated on Wednesday that they will take the Kurdish concerns into consideration and will consult with the Iraqi government in this regard.

One of the Kurdish demands was to bring the KRG’s budget share back up to 17 percent, something Abadi said he would not allow the parliament to do.

Abadi argued that the KRG’s population must be used to determine its share, adding that past budgets depended on political agreements between Iraqi and Kurdish parties, the aim of which was to win the support of the KRG’s parties.

Erbil has said it is ready to base its budget share on its population, but argues that Iraq must first conduct a census. The last time Iraq conducted a census was in the 1980s. Abadi has dismissed this argument, contending that both Erbil and Baghdad have recent population data that is also available to international organizations based in Iraq, such as the United Nations.

President Masum, a Kurd, has attempted to bring both Erbil and Baghdad to the negotiation table to hash out their differences in light of the Iraqi constitution and rulings of the Iraqi Federal Court that concluded the constitution does not allow secession, following Kurdistan’s independence vote.

Erbil has said it respects the rulings and is ready to enter talks once Baghdad is ready. Abadi’s government is yet to commit to talks, but he said in late December that they may take place at a later date.