Parliament holds second reading of Turkmen National Days Resolution, votes to extend autumn session

At the Kurdistan Parliament sitting of 24 December, MPs voted in favour of extending the Autumn Session of Parliament by 30 days, to late January, so that work on the Reform Bill, other bills and discussions on the budget and situation in Iraq can continue.

At the sitting, MPs also held the second reading of the draft Resolution on Turkmen National Holidays. MPs gave their opinions and suggestions on each of the three articles of the draft, and on its purpose. After the suggestions are studied and amendments made, the draft resolution will be put to vote at a future Parliament sitting. 

Deputy Speaker Hawrami, who presided over the sitting, asked MPs to vote on whether to extend the autumn session beyond 31st December, for another 30 days. 77 MPs voted in favour.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami said that the extension is needed to work on committees’ reports on the Reform Bill, to vote on the Anti-narcotics Bill, and to meet with the Kurdistan Regional Government to discuss Kurdistan’s position towards the current political uncertainty in Iraq, and the Iraqi budget.

The Deputy Speaker asked MPs to be present for sittings and committee meetings. He said that of the 26 sittings that Parliament has held, some MPs have attended less than 10 of them. Twenty MPs have attended all Parliament’s sittings, and four people have attended all sittings and all of their committees’ meetings. Article 22 of Parliament’s Internal Rules states that recurrent absence without a request or a valid excuse will lead to salary deductions or other measures.