Amendment to Iraqi corruption law to tackle prevalent graft within government: diplomat
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A member of Iraq’s integrity committee in the council of representatives announced on Saturday the preparation of a project to amend the law of the Iraqi Commission of Integrity to fight corruption.
October’s deadly and Iraqi-wide demonstrations saw two weeks of pause midway through the month but continue today as protestors demand action against corruption that is widespread throughout governmental institutions in the country.
Handren Lazgin, a member of the Iraqi integrity committee in the Iraqi Parliament, announced that the project to amend the Iraqi Integrity Commission law is ready for voting in the parliament.
“If voted on, it will enable the commission to effectively act against corruption and take legal action and punish those charged with corruption,” Lazgin said.
“There are several open cases of corruption in the commission of integrity; however, most of them refer back to the previous governments in Iraq,” he noted, adding that “the current government, under the leadership of Adil Abdul Mahdi, has stood against corruption the most in comparison to the previous ones.”
Since demonstrations in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities began in early October, at least 320 people have been killed on both sides and over 15,000 wounded amid a violent crackdown by security forces. International observers and human rights organizations have widely condemned the use of force.
Demonstrations continue as protesters are calling for an end to the economic woes of the public and a complete governmental overhaul amid shortages of public services, high rates of unemployment, and chronic institutional corruption.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany