No tables or accounts…the budget awaits a missing signature from the region.
No tables or accounts…the budget awaits a missing signature from the region.
7-22-2025
Information / Report:
In light of the increasing political and financial complexities, it is unlikely that the draft state budget and its detailed schedules will reach the Council of Representatives at the present time, according to informed parliamentary sources. These sources indicate that there are still major obstacles preventing the referral of the draft, most notably the Kurdistan Region’s failure to commit to handing over federal revenues in accordance with applicable constitutional and legal agreements.
According to those concerned, the federal government is facing a dilemma in preparing the budget due to the gap between the financial obligations stipulated for the region and what is actually delivered, whether from oil revenues or from unrecognized border crossings. In addition, the absence of final accounts for 2023 is in addition, which confuses financial planning mechanisms for the new year and raises doubts among the relevant parliamentary committees regarding transparency and accountability.
Observers believe that the region’s continued evasion of the terms of the previous budget law, especially Article 13/Third, exacerbates the crisis of confidence between Baghdad and Erbil and disrupts the normal constitutional process for approving the budget. It is feared that this delay will negatively impact employee salaries and development projects across the country.
Speaking about this issue, Hussein Mounes, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, ruled out the possibility of the draft state budget and its detailed schedules reaching Parliament at the present time, pointing to the existence of major obstacles hindering its approval.
Mounes explained in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency that “there are several reasons behind this delay, most notably the large deficit resulting from the differences between revenues and expenditures,” pointing to “the lack of a clear vision regarding the financing of investment projects included in the budget.”
He addressed the region’s issue, stressing that it constitutes an additional obstacle. He said, “We do not yet know the size of the expected revenues, nor the value of the expenses resulting from them,” expressing his “expectation that the budget tables will not reach Parliament under the current circumstances.”
Meanwhile, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, confirmed that the government is continuing with spending and financing operations despite not sending the 2025 budget tables to Parliament and not voting on them yet.
Al-Kadhimi said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency, “The government is proceeding with financing new and ongoing projects, as well as financing ministries and governorates, based on the ease of procedures available to it, and based on what the Prime Minister decides directly.” He pointed out that “these financial operations are now subject to the will of the Prime Minister exclusively, without referring to budget tables approved by Parliament.”
He added that “the budget tables include many vital issues related to the lives of employees, such as bonuses, promotions, transfers, and academic titles, all of which have been halted as a result of the delay in approving these tables,” considering that “the continued delay in sending and approving them casts a shadow over the government’s ability to implement these budgets.” “Its negative impact has had a significant impact on the administrative and living conditions of a large segment of employees.”
It is worth noting that the House of Representatives had previously hosted the Minister of Finance to discuss the budget schedules and the reasons for the delay in submitting them.
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