Baghdad politicizing Kurdistan's salaries ahead of elections, official says
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government is deliberately targeting public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region for political gain, former Deputy Finance Minister Rebaz Hamlan said on Thursday.
In a statement, Hamlan accused Finance Minister Taif Sami of yielding to political pressure, alleging that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and the influential Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) are 'exploiting the financial file for election campaigns and political bargaining at the expense of Kurdistan's stability and development.'
'The May salary list is free of any legal or administrative issues. Withholding payments is purely political and directly harms the people of Kurdistan,' he stated, calling the decision a violation of the Constitution, the Federal Budget Law, and Federal Supreme Court Decision No. 224, which requires the federal government to disburse salaries irrespective of political disputes.
Hamlan noted that only 3.8 trillion ($2.3B) of the Kurdistan Region's agreed share of 11.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($8.2B) for 2025 has been disbursed so far, urging Kurdish ministers in Baghdad to present a unified position in the federal cabinet and defend the financial rights of the Region's citizens.
The salary dispute between Baghdad and Erbil has remained unresolved for years, often resurfacing during budget negotiations. Tensions escalated after oil exports through Turkiye's Ceyhan port halted two years ago, prompting the federal government to classify salary transfers as temporary advances rather than fixed allocations.
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that salaries for Kurdistan Region employees must be paid directly by Baghdad, bypassing the Kurdistan Regional Government, after months of delays.
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