Subscribe 

Oil law walkout

The oil law is postponed again, awaiting political deal after Maliki MPs walked out during first reading, saying they needed more time.

BAGHDAD - A delegation of Parliamentarians, led by those loyal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, walked out during the first reading of the long-awaited oil and gas law Wednesday, citing the need to wait for the Cabinet to approve its version of the law, and delaying action until Sept. 6 at the earliest.

"We reached Article 26 of the (oil and gas) law, but MPs from the United Iraqi Collation started to leave the session room," said Bayazid Hassan, a Kurd and the only MP serving a second term on the energy committee. "I saw some MPs from Maliki's State of Law, the United Iraqi Alliance, MPs from the Sadrists Ahrar block, leaving the session. But most of them were from the State of Law block."

This content is for registered users. Please login to continue.
If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription.