The budget and the Popular Mobilization Forces law are approaching the Iraqi parliament.
The budget and the Popular Mobilization Forces law are approaching the Iraqi parliament.
2025-03-18 05:36
Shafaq News/ Iraqi parliament member, Ibtisam al-Hilali, expected on Tuesday that a vote on the federal budget schedules would be held in the coming days, once the government sends it to parliament. While she denied the existence of appointments, contracts, or wages in the budget, she indicated that there is information about the return of the service and retirement law for the Popular Mobilization Forces from the Prime Minister’s Office and its inclusion on the agenda of the upcoming parliament session expected next week .
Al-Hilali told Shafaq News Agency, “The House of Representatives voted on a three-year budget to avoid parliament voting on the budget schedules every year. Rather, ministries proceed with the budget they have. However, what happened is that parliament was asked to vote on the schedules every year .”
Al-Hilali reassured that “the schedules are currently with the government, and they are expected to be completed and sent to Parliament in the coming days. The House of Representatives will vote on them immediately upon receipt to avoid delays in ministries and budget-related matters. Therefore, there are no concerns in this regard .”
She revealed a recent meeting with Finance Minister Taif Sami, stating that “the minister was under a lot of pressure because of the budget schedules, and she in turn confirmed that all budget schedules would be submitted to the Prime Minister. Sami explained that if the budget is delayed, the ministries and operational and investment departments can continue to spend on 1/12 until the schedules are received from the government .”
Regarding the inclusion of contracts or job grades in the budget, especially with the approaching elections, when some may resort to making promises of employment to their voters, Al-Hilali explained, “The forthcoming budget is approved, and the 150,000 contracts and grades for the governorates have already been approved. Therefore, we should not be fooled by election propaganda, as the 2025 budget is devoid of appointments, wages, and contracts .”
Regarding the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) law, Al-Hilali explained, “There is information that the PMF law, which was withdrawn by the Prime Minister’s Office last week, will be returned and placed on the agenda of the next parliamentary session. Parliament is expected to hold one or two sessions within the next week .”
Regarding some MPs’ demands to dissolve Parliament due to the ongoing disruption of its sessions, Al-Hilali stated, “Parliament cannot dissolve itself permanently. It will be dissolved on January 10, 2026, when the current parliamentary term ends .”
Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Hussein Mounes, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency last Sunday that the talk about sending the general budget tables from the Ministry of Finance to the Council of Ministers remains unconfirmed, and there is no accurate information available regarding the veracity of this news .
The Ministry of Finance is expected to submit the budget tables to the Cabinet in October 2024, in preparation for approval before the start of the new year, in accordance with the Financial Management Law. However, this has not yet occurred.
Last February, the Iraqi Parliament voted to amend Article 12 of the budget law, which concerns the costs of extracting oil from the Kurdistan Region .
It is noteworthy that the Council voted in June 2023 on the draft general budget law for the fiscal years (2023 , 2024, 2025 ).
Regarding the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) law, a source within the Shiite Coordination Framework revealed to Shafaq News Agency last Wednesday that the framework and the Prime Minister were scheduled to meet to discuss the Popular Mobilization Forces’ service and retirement law for the purpose of amending it .
The source confirmed that “the framework may be forced to agree to pass the law according to the one-basket rule, so that it is passed simultaneously with the Halabja or oil and gas laws, which the Kurdish forces put forward as a pressure card in exchange for voting in favor of the Popular Mobilization Law. The same applies to the Sunni forces, which stipulated the passage of the Accountability and Justice Law .”
Last Tuesday, a source in the Coordination Framework revealed to Shafaq News Agency that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had decided to withdraw the Popular Mobilization Forces’ service and retirement law from the Iraqi parliament .
The source explained that the purpose of withdrawing this law is to reduce political disputes and prevent their impact on the House of Representatives sessions, given that the convening of sessions has become dependent on adding the law to the House’s agenda .
shafaq.com
