Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to postpone a vote on the budget bill to after the May elections if he cannot pass it as it is, Renas Jano, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction in Baghdad, and Masoud Haider, Gorran member of the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw.
Abadi "is not serious in passing the budget. He wants to benefit from the 1/12 system," Jano told Rudaw.
If the parliament fails to approve the annual budget, the government can spend one-twelfth of the estimated annual budget monthly. The funds are used to cover essential services and pay salaries.
Jano posited that Abadi wants to benefit from this system, while at the same time showing his voters that he will not give in to Kurdish and Sunni demands.
Kurds and Sunnis both have serious problems with the budget and have prevented the legislature from approving the bill.
Sunnis gave Abadi a list of their demands on Saturday. MPs representing heavily-war damaged Sunni provinces have previously demanded resumption of salary payments to public employees who have security clearance after the ousting of ISIS from their territories, and for funds for displaced families wanting to return home.
"We wish the bill will be passed according to the legal procedure like previous years," Abdulqahar Samarai, a Sunni MP from the Iraqi Forces Coalition, told Rudaw.
Kurds have also presented a list of demands.
Haider said that Abadi has not responded to Kurdish or Sunni demands and predicted this will cause problems.
If the demands of Kurds are met, Iraqis will be angry with Abadi, Haider posited. Because of this, the prime minister does not want to give in to the Kurds ahead of elections, both Haider and Jano believe.
Economist Salam Samesm believes that Iraqi politicians are exploiting budget issues for their own interests in the upcoming elections.
If the budget is not passed soon, Samesm warned it will have economic impact on the population, "especially civil servants" and those who benefit from the social care system.
He believes the government is trying to balance the demands of Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites.
The KRG has asked Kurdish MPs to do their best to guarantee at least 10 trillion dinar ($8.4 billion) for the Kurdistan Region in the bill, according to a Kurdish MP who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Ahmed Haji Rashid, a Komal MP in Baghdad and head of the parliament’s financial committee, said the Iraqi government had agreed to increasing the Kurdistan Region share from 12.67 percent to 14 percent, explaining that 14 percent of the bill is 14.56 billion dinars.
Government spokesperson Saad al-Hadithi denied this claim.
Haider said that if the sovereign fund is reduced, then Kurds might accept 14 percent of the budget.
Sovereign funds cover expenses such as the defense budget, the Iraqi Council of Ministers and the Iraqi parliament, the Iraqi president, and border guards.
