Iraq’s draft federal budget for 2019, which parliament has yet to pass, ignited major disapproval among the country’s political parties, as well as in the governorates and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The southern governorates, mainly Basra, believe that the budget allocations are unfair, particularly since the Basra governorate is desperately in need of services. The Iraqi governorates that have been liberated from the Islamic State (IS) and that continue to witness the effects of such devastation have also firmly opposed the budget allocations.