Iraq parliament gives blocs 10 days to form committees

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq’s parliament has allowed political blocs 10 days to nominate lawmakers to parliamentary committees at the start of the new term, a lawmaker said on Monday.

Mohammed Al-Baldawi, a member of the Shiite Coordination Framework’s Sadiqoon bloc, told Shafaq News that parliament currently has 25 standing committees, though some panels may be split, potentially raising the number to 27 once lawmakers are distributed and the structure is formally approved.

The appointment of permanent committee chairs will be postponed until a new government is formed, Al-Baldawi explained, with committees temporarily overseen by their oldest members under parliamentary rules.

During today’s session, lawmakers also agreed to form a committee chaired by the first deputy speaker and including representatives of political blocs to finalize committee assignments and prepare a monthly agenda for parliamentary sessions, following proposals to hold up to eight sittings per month.

Parliamentary committees, which review draft laws and summon ministers and senior officials for questioning, are central to Iraq’s legislative and oversight process. During the previous term, parliament frequently failed to meet the number of sessions required under its own internal regulations, limiting legislative output, Shafaq News found.

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