ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi parliament will convene on Thursday to vote on the country’s highly-awaited budget bill, after almost three months of studying the draft. The Iraqi council of ministers approved the federal budget bill for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 in March, and sent the draft to the legislature. The parliament was set to vote on the budget on May 27, but disagreements within the finance committee, concerning amendments relating to the Kurdistan Region, prevented the legislature from carrying out of the process. The finance committee is yet to reach an agreement on the divisive amendments, but is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest updates, according to Jamal Kochar, a Kurdish member of the committee. The 2023 budget includes a record $152 billion in spending, 12.6 percent of which is allocated for the Kurdistan Region. “We have high hopes in the representatives of the people playing their part in voting for an ambitious budget seeking to provide a free, generous life for all Iraqis,” tweeted Hisham al-Rikabi, media advisor to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, Iraq did not have a budget law in 2022 amid political uncertainty after the 2021 election. The lack of a budget jeopardized the oil-dependent economy with Baghdad prevented from taking advantage of soaring oil prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to combat poverty and bring much-needed economic stability. Atwan al-Atwani, head of the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee, told Iraqi state media in March that the new budget bill sets the minimum nominal wage at 425,000 dinars ($275), adding that lower grade salaries will increase by 150 percent according to the new scale. Iraq’s Finance Minister Taif Sami has said that the bill will prioritize developmental projects and the country’s less fortunate groups.
