Agreement reached on contentious Iraqi budget item: KDP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An agreement has been reached over a controversial paragraph in the federal budget bill that relates to the Kurdistan Region, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) delegation in Baghdad said on Saturday.
The Iraqi parliament has been convening since Thursday to vote on the bill, but disputes over items related to the Kurdistan Region have caused delays. Six articles were passed on Thursday and another 18 in a Friday night session that extended into early Saturday morning.
“An agreement has been reached over paragraph seven of Article 14,” Fuad Hussein, head of the KDP delegation said. He did not specify details of the agreement, but added that he believes the remaining issues related to the Kurdistan Region will also be resolved on Saturday.
Paragraph seven of Article 14 of the bill stipulates that in case of any dispute between the Kurdistan Region and the Iraqi government, a joint committee will meet within 30 days to reach a solution. Shiite parliamentarians wanted to amend it so that the Kurdistan Region’s budget share would be cut if a solution was not reached in 15 days.
The dispute between Kurdish and Shiite lawmakers led to parliament adjourning early Saturday morning after Kurdish MPs refused to let the meeting continue, according to Shakhawan Abdullah, second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament who spoke to Rudaw.
“The committee might not even meet in 15 days, so the Region’s share would be cut. This is an excuse to cut the budget. This allows them to suspend the Region’s share even if a trivial thing happens,” said Abdullah, who is a member of the KDP.
The Iraqi parliament was scheduled to meet on Saturday afternoon, but the session was postponed because not enough MPs were in attendance.
The Iraqi parliament has been convening since Thursday to vote on the bill, but disputes over items related to the Kurdistan Region have caused delays. Six articles were passed on Thursday and another 18 in a Friday night session that extended into early Saturday morning.
“An agreement has been reached over paragraph seven of Article 14,” Fuad Hussein, head of the KDP delegation said. He did not specify details of the agreement, but added that he believes the remaining issues related to the Kurdistan Region will also be resolved on Saturday.
Paragraph seven of Article 14 of the bill stipulates that in case of any dispute between the Kurdistan Region and the Iraqi government, a joint committee will meet within 30 days to reach a solution. Shiite parliamentarians wanted to amend it so that the Kurdistan Region’s budget share would be cut if a solution was not reached in 15 days.
The dispute between Kurdish and Shiite lawmakers led to parliament adjourning early Saturday morning after Kurdish MPs refused to let the meeting continue, according to Shakhawan Abdullah, second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament who spoke to Rudaw.
“The committee might not even meet in 15 days, so the Region’s share would be cut. This is an excuse to cut the budget. This allows them to suspend the Region’s share even if a trivial thing happens,” said Abdullah, who is a member of the KDP.
The Iraqi parliament was scheduled to meet on Saturday afternoon, but the session was postponed because not enough MPs were in attendance.