The Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khalid Al-Mishri, called on both the Head of the Audit Bureau and the Head of Administrative Control Authority not to implement the decision of the House of Representatives (HoR) regarding withdrawing the authority of the Audit Bureau and granting them to the Administrative Control Authority.
In a letter addressed to the two Heads, Al-Mishri said the handover procedures mustn't be implemented with the committee formed by the Speaker of the HoR Aqila Saleh.
While in another letter addressed to the HoR Speaker, Al-Mishri announced his rejection of the decision to withdraw the authorityof the Audit Bureau, saying that this decision affects the work of sovereign institutions without prior agreement with the HCS, and he stressed the need to adhere to the governing legislation.
The First Deputy Head of the HCS, Naji Mukhtar, confirmed to his counterpart in the HoR, Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, that the decision to withdraw the authority of the Audit Bureau violated the Bouznika agreement regarding naming sovereign positions and distributing them to geographical regions, saying it negatively affected the factor of trust between the two chambers and hindered work on the file of unifying sovereign positions, calling on the HoR to review the decision.
The HoR Speaker's decision to withdraw some of the Audit Bureau's authority and transfer it to the Administrative Control Authority was described by many analysts as an endeavor by Saleh to expand the circle of his personal influence, especially since Bouznika agreement says that the appointment of the Head of the Audit Bureau (Without Authority) is within the authority of the HCS, while the HoR appoints the new Head of the Administrative Control Authority, who will enjoy - according to HoR Speaker's decision - unprecedented powers.
