Kurdish MP: Budget share reduction cannot be imposed on Kurds

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) - An Iraqi Parliament Finance Committee member, Ahmed Haji Rashid said the State of Law Coalition cannot impose its decision on reducing the Kurdistan Region's budget on Wednesday. 

Rashid told K24 that if the decision to reduce the Kurdistan Region's budget is imposed , the Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi Parliament will refuse to participate in parliament sessions and will try to prevent the Iraqi Parliament to act based on the State of Law Coalition’s decision.

Recently, the State of Law Coalition in Iraqi Parliament—one of the largest in parliament--declared that the Kurdistan Region’s proportion of the 2016 general budget should be reduced from 17 percent to 13 percent, or the budget will not be passed.

This decision was made based on the proposal from the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives and the Finance Committee to pass the 2016 budget and reduce the Kurdistan Region’s share.

Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi Parliament have already called upon the Federal government to increase the budget share of the Kurdistan Region due to its increase in population, namely the 1.7 million refugees and internally displaced persons, and also regarding the war against Islamic State (IS).

Though the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga has been the only effective force on the ground in fighting against jihadists in Iraq, the Iraqi Defense Ministry has thus far deprived them of a great proportion of the national military budget share.

The Kurdistan Region’s budget was cut off twice since the beginning of 2014; once by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and by current Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi in 2015.