Parliament moves to summon Finance Minister over budget violations

Parliament is moving toward a formal confrontation with the Ministry of Finance, after a cross-party group of lawmakers submitted a petition calling for Finance Minister Taif Sami to be summoned for questioning over alleged violations in the implementation of the federal budget and the management of public funds. The petition, submitted by former Wasit governor Mohammed Jameel Al-Mayahi and bearing more than 40 signatures, invokes parliament’s constitutional oversight powers and sets out a detailed list of charges that point to systemic failures in fiscal governance.

At its core, the petition argues that the implementation of the 2023 federal budget law, which covers the fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025, has been marked by what it describes as “serious violations” and “dangerous deviations.”