MP questions caretaker government's eligibility to defer bills, expresses reservations on food security bill

Shafaq News/ A member of the State of Law parliamentary bloc cast doubts on the eligibility of Mustafa al-Kadhimi's caretaker government to defer bills to the parliament, expressing reservations on "financial aspects" of the emergency bill on food security.

In a statement to Shafaq News Agency, lawmaker Mohammad al-Sayhood, told Shafaq News Agency, "we have reservations on many items of the law. Of course, we accept other items."

"In our opinion, the eligibility of a caretaker government to defer bills is a major point of contention that we will bring up in the next," he added, "if it has the terms of reference to defer the food security emergency bill, why did not it defer the general budget bill?"

"The State of Law believes that such bills should not be deferred by a caretaker government because it has a financial aspect. In addition, some items shall be removed."

Earlier today, the Iraqi lawmaking body opted to adjourn the vote on the food security bill to next Saturday to "resume the discussions and bring the bill to maturity."

Lawmakers affiliated with the Shiite Coordination Framework dismissed the bill as "a waste of public funds" tailored to match "the views of the Sadrist movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and al-Siyada Coalition.