On 12 June, 2023, Iraq's Council of Representatives approved a three-year budget (2023-2025) of 198.9 trillion dinars (USD 153 billion), including the budget for Iraq's Kurdistan region. This came around three months after the government filed the draft budget, making it the largest in Iraqi history.
Topic:
Development, Oil, Budget, Domestic Politics, Public Spending, and Parliament
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)
Head of the Sadrist Movement and powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has announced that a truce reached to observe the Shia religious observance of Arbaeen was extended for another two weeks to mid-October to give political forces a chance to respond to his demands. The announcement coincided with the Iraqi parliament’s rejection of the resignation of Speaker of the parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi on September 28. It also came while the Shi'ite Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in the parliament, claimed that, along with the Kurdisd and Sunni parties, it succeeded in establishing a new political coalition, reportedly named “Running-the-State Coalition.”
Topic:
Government, Domestic Politics, Muqtada al-Sadr, Coalition, and Parliament
Lebanon’s 128-strong parliament met on May 31, 2022 to elect a speaker, a deputy speaker, two secretaries and three commissioners. The new legislature re-elected Nabih Berri, the head of the Amal Movement for a 7th term in a row, as speaker and MP Elias Bou Saab, who represents the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc, as deputy speaker.
Topic:
Domestic Politics, Presidential Elections, Parliament, and Nabih Berri
On August 19, the Iraqi President called for a national dialogue regarding the upcoming elections, expressing his concerns about the challenges holding the elections on time. Thus, Iraq once again faces uncertainty regarding the fate of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 10, 2021. A number of the Iraqi political forces announced their desire to postpone the elections, in support of the position of the leader of the Sadrist movement, while other forces oppose this approach and stand by holding the elections on their scheduled date.
Topic:
Elections, Muqtada al-Sadr, Parliament, and Shiism
Tunisian President Kais Saied received an American congressional delegation, led by
Senators Chris Murphy and Jon Ossoff. In their two-day visit (from September 4 to
September 5), the delegation met Saied in the Carthage presidential palace. They also
met representatives of Tunisian civil society organizations as well as several MPs.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democracy, Domestic Politics, and Parliament
Political Geography:
North Africa, Tunisia, and United States of America
On October 2021, Libyan House of Representatives announced that the election dates
would be rescheduled, so that presidential elections would be held on December 24,
while the legislative elections would take place thirty days later. Originally, the legislative elections were supposed to be held on the same day as the presidential elections.
This can be considered a new step taken by the Parliament with the aim of showing
commitment to the roadmap by approving the parliamentary election law.