Iraqi President sues Prime Minister and Finance Minister over delayed KRG salaries

Move emphasises tension between Baghdad and Erbil as they have failed to agree on various pending issues

The lawsuit brought by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid demonstrates simmering differences between Baghdad and Erbil. AFP

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has taken legal action against Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami Mohammed, holding them accountable for prolonged delays in paying civil servant salaries in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

The lawsuit, filed with the Federal Supreme Court on January 20 but made public on February 9, demonstrates the growing tension between Baghdad and the Kurds as they have failed to agree on various pending issues, including surrendering the oil industry to the federal authorities and resuming oil exports from the Kurdish region.

The announcement of the lawsuit on Sunday by Hawre Tawfiq, head of the Iraqi presidency's Office of Relations and International Organisations, came as teachers protested in Mr Rashid's native Sulaymaniyah province.

“We want the people of Kurdistan to know that President Rashid has filed a lawsuit at the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court” against the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, Mr Tawfiq said in a statement.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue a provisional order to ensure the region’s employees are “paid continuously and on time,” he added, emphasising that “technical issues should not delay” the salaries of public workers.

The court’s first hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for February 12, according to a document issued by the Presidency.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Tawfiq said Mr Rashid is not targeting the Prime Minister. The President "is not in opposition to any constitutional authority in the country", he said. He acts as a "guardian of the constitution and a symbol of national unity, stands equidistant from all parties", Mr Tawfiq added.

The lawsuit to "resolve the salary crisis of Kurdistan Region employees stems from a national responsibility towards a large segment of Iraqis", and aims to "find a fair and constitutional solution", he said.

The statement also called on Kurdish authorities to commit to the federal budget law and to sending all revenue to Baghdad.

Over the past weeks, protests have grown outside the United Nations’ office in Sulaymaniyah with hunger strikes beginning. Protesters tried to march to Erbil, the regional capital of Kurdistan, but were prevented security forces at the checkpoint at the entrance of the city.

The city of Sulaymaniyah in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The region’s Interior Ministry on Sunday accused “foreign and domestic parties in Iraq” of trying to exploit the protests, confirming that it is in contact with the federal government to address the outstanding salary matter.

Meanwhile, Erbil governor Omed Khoshnaw accused “ill-intentioned” people of fuelling the protests, stating that it is Baghdad, not Erbil, that is “oppressing” the Kurdish region’s civil service.

Oil exports from the region through Turkey have been halted since March 2023 after an arbitration court ruled in favour of Baghdad, saying Ankara had breached a 1973 agreement when it allowed Kurds to pump without Baghdad's consent.

Since then, Baghdad and Kurdistan have failed to agree on pending issues to resume exports, including the approval of the deals the Kurds signed unilaterally with oil companies and a system for payment for the developers.

The stop had serious consequences in the region, including layoffs and salary cuts, as producers have been forced to make cuts while the regional government has been unable to pay full salaries and social service dues.

Kurdistan's oil sector has been the lifeblood for its local economy, accounting for 80 per cent of income. At the time when Turkey halted the exports, about 500,000 barrels of oil were sent to international markets each day. Of those, about 70,000 barrels came from Baghdad-run fields in the northern province of Kirkuk.

Early in February, Iraq’s parliament approved a budget amendment to subsidise production costs for international oil companies operating in Kurdistan, in an effort to unblock northern oil exports.

The amendment sets the rate at $16 a barrel, up from an earlier proposal for $7.90 a barrel for transport and production costs, which was rejected as too low by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry, in co-ordination with the Kurdistan region’s Ministry of Natural Resources, will appoint an international consultant within 60 days to assess fair production and transport costs, the new deal said.

The parliamentary approval marks an important step in resolving a nearly two-year dispute over Kurdish oil exports and in improving ties between Baghdad and Erbil.