Kurdistan Provincial Councils reject Abadi’s attempt to deal with Kurdish governorates separately

The KRG criticized a budget law, approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers on Sunday, for mentioning the Kurdistan Region as “the provinces of northern Iraq.”

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Provincial Councils on Saturday rejected Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s initiative to deal with the Region’s province’s separately, calling on Baghdad to deliver employees’ salaries on the basis of the biometric system.

Governors and Provincial Councils, and the Raparin and Garmiyan Administrations of the Kurdistan Region held a meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to discuss the issue of employees’ salaries and the Iraqi PM’s recent proposal regarding the matter.

In a joint statement, Kurdish governorates and administrations urged Erbil and Baghdad to resolve their current issues through dialogue on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution.

The statement also called on the Iraqi government to support the KRG and its institutions and not to deal with governorates separately.

The KRG criticized a budget law, approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers on Sunday, for mentioning the Kurdistan Region as “the provinces of northern Iraq.” The budget law had also labeled the KRG the “government of the provinces” and its institutions and ministries as “provincial authorities.”

Meanwhile, the governorates and administrations welcomed the Iraqi government’s initiative to pay the KRG employees’ salaries, but only in accordance with the biometric registration system implemented by the KRG.

They insisted Halabja—a Kurdistan Region governorate—be considered part of the annual Iraqi budget law.

The governorates and administrations also asked the international community and the UN to assist in resolving the issues between the KRG and the Federal Government of Iraq.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany