Parliamentary committee requests 24-hour extension for budget reading

Shafaq News / Members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee requested today, Thursday, a 24-hour extension from the Parliamentary Legal Committee to allow them to read the budget law in preparation for its approval.

They also revealed the nature of the internal Kurdish dispute regarding committee amendments and the veto of the Kurdistan Democratic Party concerning a specific procedure.

Sources present at the recent meeting of the Parliamentary Finance Committee informed Shafaq News Agency that "a number of committee members effectively requested the Parliamentary Legal Committee to grant them a 24-hour deadline for reading the budget law, with the approval of the Parliamentary Presidium."

The sources added that "there is a preliminary agreement from the Presidium and the Parliamentary Legal Committee, but it is not yet official regarding this request."

On her part, the member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Iman Abdul Razzaq, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that "there is a proposed deadline from members of the Finance Committee to their counterparts in the Legal Committee, and an unofficial approval from the Parliamentary Presidium so far."

Furthermore, Mueen al-Kadhimi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, stated to Shafaq News Agency that "the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government have reached an important agreement regarding Articles 13 and 14 of the General Budget Law, which concern the mechanism of oil exports from the Kurdistan Region via SOMO company and the depositing of funds into a central bank account." He explained that "the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region has the authority to disburse funds from this account."

Al-Kadhimi added that "in the event of inability to export oil through the Ceyhan Port, the federal government will receive 400,000 barrels of oil per day for local consumption, and it will be obligatory for the federal government to pay the Region's dues of 12.67% of the budget."

He further stated that "the remaining disagreements are between the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan regarding the priority of disbursing salaries for employees and retirees in the Kurdistan Region. If the distribution is not fair, the Patriotic Union will deal directly with the federal government to disburse Sulaymaniyah's dues without involving the regional government." He pointed out that "the Democratic Party does not agree to this matter and considers it as interference in the internal affairs of the Region."

Al-Kadhimi concluded, "Therefore, dialogues are currently taking place to reach an agreement between the Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union in this regard to achieve a final result."

Previously, the KDP objected to amendments made by the Finance Committee to the budget law, which, according to the party's perspective, contradicted the agreement between the Baghdad and Kurdistan governments. Efforts have been made to resolve this "crisis" either through parliamentary meetings or even at the level of parties and political blocs to bring viewpoints closer in order to pass the budget without "objections, problems," or last-minute surprises.