Iraq parliament committee says 2026 budget will not pass, debt bill sent to speaker

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Parliamentary Finance Committee said the 2026 budget will not be approved and the government needs legislation to continue spending. Committee chair Atwan Awad said two separate bills — one covering borrowing, grants and external aid, and another allowing civil servants to take extended leave of up to five years — have been sent to the parliament's speaker and will be scheduled for first reading. Awad added that the 2027 budget is expected to reach parliament in October, and the committee has been informed it will be structured as a program- and performance-based budget. Committee member Muhammad Halfaji said the five-year leave bill is intended to become a permanent law rather than a temporary clause added each year to the budget law. Halfaji noted that under the Federal Financial Administration Law, the government must submit the 2027 draft budget by Oct. 15, and that previous governments had failed to meet that deadline. Committee member Jamal Kocher said the borrowing bill has become unavoidable because the 2026 budget was not passed, and that it would authorize borrowing from international institutions and foreign states. Kocher added that part of the borrowing proceeds would be allocated to Basra province.