Iraq president finally approves divisive 2018 budget

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s President Fuad Masum ordered on Thursday to officially publish the country’s controversial 2018 budget, ending weeks of political grappling over the document.

A statement by the presidency said Masum ordered the budget for publication at the official gazette. It said, however, that the president would sue some state agencies for issuing directives to publish the budget in violation of his own authorities.

On Wednesday, Masum made a warning to the Justice Ministry after it ordered its departments to publish the budget, saying the ministry’s action was a violation of his powers.

Two weeks ago, Masum has rejected the budget bill, and ordered it back to the parliament, citing several  and legal violations in the document.

The Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the USD88 billion draft on March 3rd amid a boycott from Kurdistan Region representatives who objected to reducing the region’s share of allocations from 17% to slightly above 12%.

The Iraqi president was a co-founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Kurdish parliamentarians had been quoted saying they would demand Masum and all other Kurdish members of the Iraqi government bodies to withdraw in protest at the budget.

Relations between Kurdistan and the Iraqi government deteriorated after a referendum Kurdistan held in September, in which a majority voted for secession from Iraq.