Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi has issued a decree proposing the cancellation of the country’s vice president positions and deputy PM role.
A statement on Sunday on the PM’s Facebook page said that Abbadi will also investigate corruption, reappoint all senior officials based on professional rather than sectarian standards, and reduce the number of security personnel protecting senior officials in order to cut down on waste.
Abbadi held a meeting on Friday evening with a number of experts and advisers to discuss the administrative and financial reforms in his new bid to tackle corruption in the country.
The decision to terminate the roles would need to be fully approved first by Abbadi’s cabinet, and then if approved by the cabinet must go to parliament to be ratified.
Other points proposed by Abbadi include cancelling special privileges and expenses that were allocated to the three branches of the government, merging some ministries and slimming down others to improve services and cut down on expenses.
Mustafa Saadoun, one of the organisers of the recent protests in Baghdad and director of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that a demonstration in support of Abbadi’s proposal is expected on Sunday evening.
“If these decisions do go through they are certainly a new beginning for us, and a big step towards tackling and getting rid of corruption within the government,” Saadoun said.
“For the past two weeks we have been protesting for change in the capital, and today we support the answer.”
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Source: Al Jazeera