BAGHDAD, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament on Monday voted to dissolve provincial councils, except for Kurdistan region, and cancel the privileges of top and senior officials, as part of measures to meet the demands of anti-government protesters.
In a televised parliament session on Monday afternoon, the lawmakers voted to authorize provincial governors to take over the duties of the councils. The parliament also dissolved all the city and town councils.
The lawmakers voted to cancel the privileges of top and senior officials, including the president, prime minister, speaker of the parliament, as well as ministers and parliament members, among others.
Also in the session, the parliament voted in favor of forming a committee to amend the constitution within four months.
The parliament's decisions came as protests continued for a fourth successive day in Baghdad and other cities in central and southern provinces, where protesters called for reform, accountability for corrupt officials, improvement of public services and job opportunities.
The latest wave of demonstrations came after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi made a televised speech, in which he warned of chaos if the government resigns, and promised a cabinet reshuffle, jobs creation and the establishment of a court to prosecute corrupt officials.
Earlier this month, massive protests erupted in Baghdad and other central and southern provinces for similar reasons.
The Iraqi government responded by presenting packages of reforms aimed at providing job opportunities, building housing complexes, paying stipends to the poor and scaling up the fight against corruption.
