BAGHDAD, Aug. 11 (UPI) — The Iraqi Parliament Tuesday unanimously approved proposed government anticorruption and budget reforms.
The measures, suggested Sunday by Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi, include the elimination of symbolic but lucrative vice-president and deputy prime minister positions; an end to sectarian- and party- based quotas for government ministry positions, and the reopening of graft prosecutions against suspected government officials. The legislation immediately passes into law.
“I congratulate all Iraqis on the approval of the reform package, and I promise to continue the way of reform even if costs me my life,” Abadi said in a statement.
The Iraqi government is notorious for corruption, and weeks of protests by citizens, largely in Shiite southern Iraq against the Shiite-led government, have come from complaints about mismanagement and lack of services. Citizens endure power shortages as a heat wave has swept over Iraq.
Although the reforms were well-received, it was not established how they would be carried out, and some legislators said they consolidate too much power in the prime minister’s office.
“Despite giving our blessing to the reforms, they went far from the essence of protest demands,” said legislator Kadhum al-Sayadi.
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