Parliament's "Forgery" of the Budget... A "Dangerous Precedent" Swinging Between Denial and Confirmation, Putting Mandalawi on the Brink of Overthrow, 23 AUGUST

Parliament's "Forgery" of the Budget... A "Dangerous Precedent" Swinging Between Denial and Confirmation, Putting Mandalawi on the Brink of Overthrow

Independent MP Ahmed Majeed Al-Sharmani commented today, Thursday (August 22, 2024), on the existence of manipulation and changes in the 2024 budget tables approved by the House of Representatives.

Al-Sharmani told Baghdad Today, "The parliamentary investigations are ongoing and ongoing in order to find out the truth about the existence of manipulation and change in the 2024 budget schedules."

He added: "We requested all papers and documents from the Parliamentary Finance Committee to audit the tables and reveal the truth about any tampering with them, and we are still waiting for those papers to reach us from the committee, and after the audit we will take a position in the event of any tampering."

He pointed out that "this move is supported by most of the representatives, and we cannot remain silent about such a serious issue in which there is manipulation if these allegations are true, in addition to the existence of a parliamentary investigative committee specializing in this file."

Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, denied any manipulation of the budget tables, saying that “the budget tables voted on by the House of Representatives are the same ones sent by the Council of Ministers and returned to it.”

Al-Mandlawi posted on his Facebook account, yesterday, Wednesday (August 21, 2024), that “after following up on what is being published and broadcast of inaccurate talks by some media outlets, the budget tables voted on by the House of Representatives are the same ones sent by the Council of Ministers and returned to it, according to our parliamentary decision No. (64),” stressing that no amendments have been made to them, according to the statement . 

He pointed out that "the aforementioned tables are the same ones that were sent to the government after approval," noting that the Council Presidency "has formed a high-level committee to examine the circumstances raised regarding the issue and determine their truth."

Investigations are ongoing

However, the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed that the investigation committee is continuing to investigate the circumstances of tampering with the budget tables and the CD, noting that the government has begun working with the tables voted on by the House of Representatives.

Committee member Moeen Al-Kadhimi said in a statement followed by "Baghdad Today", Tuesday (August 20, 2024), that "the investigation committee formed by the parliamentary finance and related to tampering with the budget tables sent by the government to parliament and which were voted on is still ongoing," noting that "the investigation was conducted with the Secretary-General of the Council of Representatives and the Director of the Office of the Speaker of the Council of Representatives ." 

At the beginning of last June, the House of Representatives approved the amended Federal General Budget Tables No. (13) for the year (2024) . During the House of Representatives session, the estimates of the General Budget Tables for the year 2024, its attachments, and the deficit financing tables were approved .

Al-Mandlawi may lose his position

MP Basem Khashan, for his part, confirmed the possibility of terminating the membership of the acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, if the charges of tampering with the budget tables, which were recently revealed by the Prime Minister’s Office, are proven.

In a televised interview followed by "Baghdad Today" (August 19, 2024), Khashan said, "Parliament committed legal violations in amending the budget schedules, and they were on their way to being published and implemented had it not been for the government's scrutiny, noting that many representatives were deceived in this file ."

The Council of Ministers had spoken of an increase of 15 trillion dinars in the last tables, and it was not included in the agreement, discussions and voting, requesting a re-audit.

However, information indicates that there is a difference in the numbers amounting to more than 10 trillion added to the original budget of 211 trillion dinars, which is something that economic experts consider a dangerous precedent, given the failure to submit final accounts  link