Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 11
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
All the MPs in Iran's western Kurdistan province except for one, have resigned over budget disputes, the Fars News Agency reported on December 11.
Hamed Qadermarzi is the province's only representative in parliament (Majlis) who refused to resign.
The MPs have resigned in protest at what they called unfair distribution of shares in the country's budget bill for next year.
They say the government has not paid attention to the necessary budget of the provinces for construction work.
It was reported on December 10 that 18 representatives of the southern Khuzestan province have submitted their resignations in protest at the budget bill.
Iranian MP Seyyed Sharif Hosseini confirmed the resignation.
The MPs resigned in protest at what they called severe cuts in the province's budget for the next year, the ISNA News Agency reported.
"Some of the province's share has been reduced in next year's budget bill, but Khuzestan province's share has been severely cut," Hosseini explained.
"Apparently there is no need for the presence of Khuzestan province's representatives in parliament, so we decided to resign en bloc," he added.
According to Hosseini, the MPs will not take back their resignations unless the government revises the province's budget share.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani submitted the draft budget bill for the next Iranian year (to start on March 21, 2014) to parliament on December 8.
Iran's budget for next year has set a ceiling budget at 7830 trillion rials which is about $315 billion based on the U.S. official exchange rate of 24,850 rials, the Fars News Agency reported on December 8.
The figure shows an 8.4 per cent growth year on year.
Meanwhile, the national development budget has been announced at 1950 trillion rials (about $78 billion), a 240 per cent rise compared to the year before.
According to government sources, the bill has been devised on an average oil price of 100 dollars per barrel and exchange rate of 26,000 rials for the USD.
Iran's next calendar year starts on March 21, 2014.
Iran's economy is grappling with a series of issues including massive inflation and high liquidity.
Sanctions imposed by Western counties have also added to economic hardship.