The Chairman of the Parliamentary Administrative Committee, M.P. Khaleefah Al-Diyat, stated Thursday that, for the first time in the history of local administration and municipal laws, the committee recommended restricting the Cabinet's authority to dissolve municipal councils, binding the government to a specific timeframe.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking at a press conference following the committee's approval of the amended draft Local Administration Law, Al-Diyat noted that, to uphold sound governance, the committee also redrafted the article pertaining to the municipal director to prevent overreach by either the ministry or the elected councils.
He added that the committee entrusted the appointment of municipal directors to the Public Service and Administration Commission, in line with standard state practices, while preserving and enhancing the roles and authorities granted to the mayor and the municipal council.
The committee added an explicit clause to the article governing the mayor's responsibilities, stipulating that the mayor holds supervisory, oversight, and follow-up authority over all municipal plans and committees. Under this clause, the mayor may request any information from the municipal director regarding any issue and present it to the municipal council to take appropriate action.
Al-Diyat emphasized that the committee sought to affirm the pivotal role, authority, and central position of the mayor by explicitly stating it in the text. He assured that there is no overreach or reduction of the powers of the mayor or the municipal council, noting that the committee reviewed several articles to delete or replace ambiguous phrasing with more precise terms that serve elected councils.
Regarding the municipal director, Al-Diyat explained that the government's proposal stipulated appointing a municipal director whose recruitment mechanism, duties, and rights would be determined by a regulation. The committee harbored concerns that appointing the director through the Minister would constitute central government interference in elected local administrations.
Conversely, the committee was also concerned that leaving the appointment to municipal councils could blur the lines between elected bodies and executive leadership. Consequently, the committee drafted the article to assign the appointment process to the Public Service and Administration Commission, distancing both the ministry and the municipal council from the hiring process.
The goal, Al-Diyat explained, is to insulate the mayor and municipal council from daily routine administrative tasks that might embroil them in administrative, financial, or social conflicts. This enables the elected council to dedicate its time, meetings, and dialogues to strategic planning and executing urban and developmental goals for the local community.
He noted that the amendments transform the mayor's role from a protocol-heavy position into an active supervisory role while enhancing public participation.
Furthermore, the committee introduced a legal framework allowing municipal councils to utilize the Urban Observatory for Development, introducing a clear definition for it in Article 2 and authorizing municipal councils to leverage its data in preparing various plans.
Because the Urban Observatory operates as a centralized unit within the ministry—making it difficult for individual municipalities to establish their own—the added legal provisions enable municipalities to access these databases for planning purposes.
Al-Diyat highlighted that the committee reduced direct executive intervention in selecting community representatives and, most importantly for citizens, raised the municipalities' share of allocated capital expenditure.
Previously, municipal funding relied on fuel revenues. Fearing that these revenues might decline amid the transition toward electricity, gas, and solar energy, the committee tied the funding directly to the state's capital expenditure instead.
Unsatisfied with the initially proposed 15% share—despite its substantial size—the committee held intensive talks with the government, successfully raising the municipalities' share to 16% of total capital expenditure. Financial experts understand the significant magnitude of this percentage within government capital spending.
The committee also strengthened accountability mechanisms across different municipal entities—including the mayor, the council, and the director—ensuring that all officials within municipal institutions remain subject to oversight.
In line with sound governance principles, the committee eliminated certain candidate restrictions. Having effectively separated the roles of the executive apparatus and elected bodies, the committee deemed additional restrictions on candidates unnecessary and sought to limit arbitrary interventions in council affairs.
The committee also bolstered oversight over the executive branch and expanded public participation through neighborhood committees and local development units, mandating that these units include dedicated offices for empowering women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
In addition, the committee integrated modern planning tools and data frameworks and expanded the role of governorate councils (decentralization councils), granting them authority not only to approve plans and budgets, but to formally debate them prior to approval.
He noted that the committee reduced government appointments in community representation positions.
Stressing that the bill aims to deliver tangible benefits to citizens, Al-Diyat highlighted that, for the first time, the committee inserted an explicit clause in the article governing municipal fees for roads and retaining walls, clarifying that these fees are levied only once and strictly upon road execution.
Citizens cannot be required to pay paving or surfacing fees before a road project is executed, nor can they be charged for retaining walls, gabion cages, stormwater drainage channels, or box/tubular culverts unless they are constructed concurrently with the road.
If these works are undertaken after or before the road construction—or to mitigate rain damage—the municipality must bear the cost. Al-Diyat urged citizens not to pay such fees if requested by municipalities unless they are verified to comply with the new law. He affirmed that the committee would closely monitor this issue to relieve financial burdens on citizens.
Al-Diyat added that the committee outlined its recommendations in detail.
The government had previously published the key features of the draft Local Administration Law for 2026, which the House of Representatives voted by majority to refer to the Parliamentary Administrative Committee for discussion.
According to Al-Diyat, the committee recommended raising the minimum age requirement for candidates running in municipal council elections from 22 to 25 years while retaining a Bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for candidates running for mayor in first-category municipalities.
Al-Diyat reaffirmed during the press conference that the committee recommended delegating the appointment of municipal executive directors to the Public Service and Administration Commission to uphold sound governance and prevent role overlap between executive staff and elected councils.
He added that the committee recommended raising the municipalities' share of allocated capital expenditure from 15% to 16% following intensive discussions with the government, boosting municipal capacity to implement service and development projects.
He emphasized that these recommendations form part of amendments designed to empower elected councils, broaden public participation, improve municipal services, and entrench sound governance across local administration.
Following its submission to the Speakership of the House of Representatives, the draft law will be debated and voted on by the full House, which holds final legislative authority over the bill.
Al-Diyat reiterated that, for the first time in the history of local administration and municipal legislation, the committee recommended restricting the Cabinet's authority to dissolve municipal councils and binding the government to a specific timeframe.
The overarching draft law aims to enhance local administration governance, elevate service quality, expand community participation, and empower municipalities to play an active developmental and investment role that stimulates local economies across governorates.
