The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, announced that the coming days will witness the activation of the rules of parliamentary conduct with absent MPs. While he directed the cancellation of all delegations for MPs, as well as the return to electronic voting on draft laws, the activation of requests for interrogation of ministers, and the rationalization of media appearances for MPs, he called on the political blocs to assume their responsibilities in the commitment of MPs to attend sessions to end the state of not achieving the legal quorum for holding parliamentary sessions.
This came during a meeting chaired by Al-Mashhadani with the heads of parliamentary blocs in the Constitutional Hall inside the Iraqi Parliament building.
Al-Mashhadani stressed in a statement the “necessity for the House of Representatives to continue holding its sessions, which ensure the performance of its legislative and oversight role that the Iraqi people await with regard to laws that touch upon their needs and livelihood, such as approving budget schedules and other laws that concern some security agencies and the general amnesty and personal status laws.”
He added, “The solidarity and cooperation of the parliamentary blocs with the Speaker of the Council will lead to the holding of sessions and the revival of confidence between the Council and the citizens, which will positively reflect on the electoral situation that will take place in the coming months.”
Al-Mashhadani explained that “the coming days will witness the activation of the rules of parliamentary conduct in accordance with the Council’s law and internal regulations, imposing a fine of one million dinars on the representative absent from a single session, and publishing the names of the absent representatives on the Council’s official website.”
Al-Mashhadani also directed “the cancellation of all delegations to representatives, as well as the return to electronic voting on draft laws, and the activation of interrogation requests for ministers,” according to the statement.
He stressed the “necessity of rationalizing the media appearance of representatives and making it appropriate for their parliamentary status and representation of the Iraqi people, and not distributing criticisms to the House of Representatives and government institutions without following the official means to convey these criticisms.”
At the end of the statement, Al-Mashhadani renewed his call to the political blocs “to assume their responsibilities in ensuring that representatives attend sessions, achieve the legal quorum, and participate effectively in passing laws that serve the country’s interests.”
