(dpa) - Iraqi legislators finally voted Wednesday on federal budget laws, regulating provinces and general amnesty, after a three-month abstention in voting.
"Today is a celebration for the Iraqi parliament because we have proved that all Iraqis are united and that the Iraqis are capable of overcoming any difficulties," speaker of parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadany told reporters.
The Kurdish Autonomous Region managed to gain 17 per cent of the 49-billion-dollar federal budget of 2008, although reports said the bill planned only 12 per cent for the Kurds.
Meanwhile, the Sunnis were satisfied to vote on the general amnesty law that grants the release of many Sunni detainees from Iraqi prisons.
The Shiites were also pleased in that they achieved their interests, voting on a law to regulate provinces.
"The administration of the parliament has been facing tough psychological and political pressures for the first time of its kind. But we overcame all the burdens because the parliament represents all Iraqis," al-Mashhadany said.
He added that the parliament is responsible for implementing the three laws.
Voting on the bills has been delayed many times amid conflicts between different parliamentary blocs.
On Tuesday, al-Mashhadany warned the different parliamentary blocs of the possibility of dissolving the parliament, if abstentions continued.