Iraqi Parliament to amend General Amnesty Law
"In this current parliamentary term, we will also try to amend the provincial council and budget laws."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Ahmed Muzhir al-Janabi, a parliament member from the Al-Siyada alliance, announced on Saturday that the alliance's bloc at the parliament submitted a request to the parliamentary presidency for amending the General Amnesty Law.
Al-Janabi clarified that his bloc's proposed amendment doesn't apply to imprisoned terrorists.
"In this current parliamentary term, we will also try to amend the provincial council and budget laws," al-Janabi revealed.
The Iraqi Parliament passed the General Amnesty Law in 2016. The first amendment to the law was made the following year. Under the amendments, if a perpetrator and their victim reach an agreement, the perpetrator can be released. Additionally, those accused of stealing public funds can be released if they return what they stole.
The last provincial council elections were held in Iraq in 2013 and in the Kurdistan Region in 2014.
Provincial elections were scheduled in Iraq for Apr. 20, 2020. However, those elections were delayed indefinitely in November 2019 following countrywide anti-corruption demonstrations demanding sweeping reforms.
In the summer of 2020, after protests around the country specifically demanded the dissolution of provincial councils, the ruling parties decided to postpone any decision on when to hold new provincial elections until after the early October 2021 parliamentary election.
