Iraqi parliament to convene for second reading of food security law
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi parliament will convene on Tuesday for the second reading of the Emergency Support for Food Security and Development bill.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi parliament called on its members to attend a session on Tuesday at 11 am. According to the agenda, the meeting will focus solely on the bill's second reading.
The parliament was supposed to meet on May 14 to discuss the bill. However, that meeting was postponed due to objections to the bill by some parliamentary blocs, including those in the Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF). Members from the SCF submitted complaints against the draft bill to the Federal Supreme Court.
On May 15, the top court ruled against passing the draft bill. The court's decision sparked many angry reactions among the political elite and the Iraqi people on social media.
On May 16, Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr accused his SCF rivals of targeting the Iraqi people by having the court reject the bill.
"I swear by God they [SCF] are targeting the people and want to bring them down," Sadr said. "What is even more surprising is that the judiciary is keeping pace with the disgraceful actions of the SCF."
Read More: Shiite Coordination Framework targeting Iraqi people by rejecting emergency food bill: Sadr
In response to the court's rejection of the bill, which his caretaker government proposed, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi released a statement on Twitter explaining the urgent need to pass the bill on May 16.
"The government proposed the Emergency Support for Food Security and Development draft bill to the parliament for urgent reasons, including to face the economic challenges imposed by the global rise of prices and to achieve food security," he tweeted.
"The draft bill would also support social welfare; protect the poor and needy people in the face of the global economic crisis, provide services, provide job opportunities for the newly graduated students," he added.
Read More: Failure to pass food security bill undermines government role in fulfilling people's needs: Iraqi PM
On Saturday, Sadr once again called on Iraq's parliament to pass the bill, expressing his hope that the parliament could legislate the food security law without succumbing to pressure from political parties.
"After adopting a law criminalizing normalization, it became necessary for the honorable parliament to pass a service law that directly benefits the people, which is the food security law," read Sadr's official statement.
Read More: Iraqi parliament needs to pass food security law to benefit the people: Sadr
The draft bill is supported by the Saving the Homeland coalition of the Sadrist Movement, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Sunni Al-Siyada Alliance. It is opposed by the Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF), which is made up of Iran-backed Shiite political parties.