ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A brawl erupted between parliamentarians on Monday night after a member and former Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) spokesperson insulted the Kurdistan Region and its leaders, according to an MP. A physical altercation broke out between MP Yousef al-Kalabi and representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) due to "verbal abuse" by the former, the KDP’s Mayada Muhammad told Rudaw English on Monday. "Kalabi transgressed the sanctities of the Kurdistan region and its leaders," Muhammad said, adding that Kalabi intends to deepen the disputes between Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The controversial Federal Court bill was scheduled to be voted on Monday, but disputes between several political blocs on a number of articles in the bill, including the structure of the court and the mechanism for selecting its judges, have yet to be resolved. Mohamed said that the session might be adjourned until tomorrow or Thursday. Speaker of Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi held a meeting with leaders of the different political factions inside the parliament on Monday ahead of the scheduled parliamentary meeting on the bill, but did not reach an agreement. This comes as the 2021 budget bill is yet to be finalized between Erbil and Baghdad in regard to the Kurdistan Region's share of the federal budget. The Iraqi parliament on Thursday voted on most articles of the new controversial law while postponing voting on the final draft due to disputes between the parliamentary blocs regarding the addition of four Islamic jurists to the committee. Article two of the bill adds four Islamic Jurists from the Sunni and Shiite sects to the federal court committee. They will be granted veto power and the ability to review, approve, and reject new laws before legislation. No law can be passed without two-thirds approval from the 15-person committee. Several MPs and activists have spoken out against the bill, saying it violates the constitution and may promote religious extremism. "The political blocs shared among themselves the committee seats, with 5 seats for the Shiites, 2 for the Sunnis, and 2 for the Kurds," MP and head of the Rafidain Christian Bloc, Yonadam Kanna, told Rudaw English on Tuesday. "We have our concerns that the law may lead to promoting religious extremism," he added. A member of Iraqi Parliament’s finance committee said that voting on a federal court bill before the 2021 budget is a “strategic mistake” as the budget bill is more urgent. “It is a huge mistake to say that let us vote on the federal court then vote on the budget bill, because the budget is priority, election is in October and that is when we need the federal court, but for now budget and people’s livelihood is more important,” Hoshiar Abdullah told Rudaw’s Fuad Rahim on Sunday. Abullah said that the concern is that after the federal court bill is passed, the political parties would neglect the budget bill, and eventually not pass it given that “Iraq is doing better economically and oil prices are high enough for Iraq to save up money.” With reporting by Dilan Sirwan
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