Over 100 bills stalled in Iraq's parliament, MP says
"Among the stalled bills are the National Service Law, the National Oil Company Law, and the Federal Civil Service Law, in addition to many others," Mohammed Anouz told Shafaq News Agency. "These laws were withdrawn by an official letter from the government for amendment."
Anouz explained that "other important laws that are stalled in the parliament are due to political and technical reasons, including the general amnesty law and the federal court law."
He expressed his hope that "these laws will be passed during the next legislative session."
When Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became prime minister of Iraq in October 2022 after a year of impasse and political infighting, he made it a priority to combat endemic corruption in the country and help restore citizen trust in government institutions. But thus far, and twenty years after the US-led invasion, Iraq remains subverted by a controversial power-sharing system that helped entrench a sectarian elite and reproduce corruption and inequality.
Pervasive corruption is arguably the greatest barrier to reform.
Perceptions of corruption are high and Iraqis have lost faith in a leadership that has been unable to translate the country's immense wealth into sustainable growth and prosperity for all. Anger over the deterioration of public services, growing unemployment, and insecurity came to a head in 2019 when massive youth-led protests brought down the government and forced early elections with the introduction of a new electoral law that helped independent groups gain seats in the parliament. That law has since been overturned by the new parliament under Coordination Framework leadership. Although the combination of targeted violence against protesters and partial concessions eventually broke the protesters's resolve, their demands continue to reverberate as many grievances.
