Shafaq News

Two years after Iraq reinstated its provincial councils, the bodies are again facing criticism over whether they retain the authority needed to improve services, oversee spending, or hold local officials to account.

The councils resumed work in early 2024 following elections held in December 2023, ending a four-year suspension that began after mass protests in 2019 accused them of corruption and ineffectiveness. Their return was framed by lawmakers as a revival of decentralized governance and a way to bring decision-making closer to citizens.

Under Iraq’s constitution, provincial councils are elected local authorities with administrative, financial, and oversight powers. In practice, however, their role has been sharply narrowed; legal amendments adopted after the councils were dissolved stripped them of key oversight tools, particularly the authority to question or monitor federal ministries operating at the provincial level.

Those changes, council members and legal experts agree, have left the bodies responsible for local outcomes without the means to enforce decisions. A member of Baghdad’s provincial council said the body can allocate funds to the capital’s municipality but has no legal right to oversee projects or spending, because the municipality operates under a separate law beyond the council’s reach.

The imbalance is not limited to Baghdad. Across several provinces, councils now issue recommendations rather than binding decisions, weakening their ability to influence service delivery or intervene when projects stall. Governors and federal ministries retain effective control over budgets and execution, blurring lines of accountability.

Political analyst Abbas Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News that the return of the councils has not translated into measurable improvements. Provinces functioned for years without them, he said, and their reinstatement has added an extra bureaucratic layer without resolving core service failures. “The structure exists, but the impact does not.”

A legal expert argued that the problem lies in implementation rather than existence. Ali Al-Tamimi, a constitutional lawyer, told our agency that provincial councils remain protected under Article 122 of the constitution, which defines them as independent local authorities. Weakening or abolishing them outright, he explained, would require constitutional amendments rather than ordinary legislation.

Regardless, public frustration has grown as infrastructure failures persist. Recent flooding and service disruptions in provinces including Babil and Al-Diwaniyah have exposed confusion over who bears responsibility, with councils, governors, and ministries each pointing to legal limits on their authority.

Council members and officials also cite political quota systems, slow investigations by integrity bodies, and continued centralization of fiscal power as obstacles that further erode local oversight. While councils serve four-year terms, critics say their current mandate risks expiring without meaningful reform.

As the councils reach the midpoint of their term, this debate – over whether their powers should be restored, redefined, or curtailed again – is not yet done.

Read more: Iraq’s Provincial Councils: Dysfunctional return deepens public disillusionment

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.