Lawmaker urges Inclusion of Budget Law in Parliamentary Agenda

Shafaq News / Ibtisam Al-Hilali, a member of the Coordinating Framework, called on the Iraqi Parliament's presidency to include the budget law in the parliamentary session's agenda, warning that any delay in approving the budget would affect the country's economic situation.

Al-Hilali told Shafaq News Agency, "The draft of the general budget law has been at the Council of Representatives for over a week and is currently in the office of the Speaker of the Council, but it has not been distributed to the council members, and we do not know the reason for its exclusion from the agenda." She added, "As members of parliament, we demand that the presidency of the council include the budget law in the agenda for the upcoming session to make the best use of time and complete the first reading of the law."

Al-Hilali continued, "Parliament members and political blocs have many observations on the budget law, and we cannot present them until after the first reading of the law is completed," pointing out that "any delay in approving the budget will affect the country's economic situation."

The Council of Representatives was scheduled to hold its session at 8 p.m. on Saturday to vote on the remaining provisions of the local and parliamentary elections law. However, the session was postponed for more than an hour due to the lack of a legal quorum and the political blocs' discussions about the law, leading to the session being rescheduled for Sunday. The agenda for the session did not include the inclusion of the 2023 federal budget law.