Iraq presidential vote in doubt after boycotts, candidate suspension - GulfToday

Iraq presidential vote in doubt after boycotts, candidate suspension

  • 07 Feb 2022
Hoshyar-Zebari-750

Hoshyar Zebari speaks to the media in Baghdad. File/Reuters

Gulf Today Report

A scheduled vote by Iraq's parliament to elect a new national president was thrown into doubt on Monday after key factions announced boycotts and a frontrunner was suspended by a court.

Supreme Court on Sunday suspended a former foreign minister's presidential bid over graft allegations and many lawmakers said they would boycott a vote for a new head of state, prolonging a political standoff.

The court said the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari, a Western-friendly veteran Iraqi Kurdish statesman, could not proceed until corruption charges from a separate 2016 stint as finance minister were dealt with.

READ MORE

Anti-drug judge shot dead in southern Iraq

Russia links US nuclear arms talks to security demands

A cancellation would be the latest chapter of political turmoil in the war-scarred country which, almost four months after a general election, still hasn't chosen a new prime minister.

The suspension of Zebari's presidential bid, one day before parliament was due to elect a new president.

Last week four parliamentarians filed a petition to the federal court demanding Zebari's exclusion from the presidential race, accusing him of financial and administrative corruption in 2016.

 

 

Related articles

Thousands protest in Iraq as deadline for new PM looms

Anti-government rallies have rocked Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south since October 1, with demonstrators calling for a complete overhaul of a regime they deem corrupt and inefficient.

22 Dec 2019

Iraqi Parliament to elect new President on Thursday

According to the power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003, the presidency should be reserved for the Kurds, the Speaker's post for the Sunnis, and the Prime Minister's post for the Shias.

12 Oct 2022

Elect new PM with no ‘foreign interference,’ urges Iraqi cleric

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric said on Friday he was not taking part in talks on the country’s new premier, as his supporters joined apprehensive youths still protesting in the capital despite widening intimidation campaigns.

06 Dec 2019

Hasina poised for fifth term as voting in Bangladesh polls gets under way

Bangladesh was voting on Sunday in an election guaranteed to give a fifth term in office to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after a boycott led by an opposition party she branded a "terrorist organisation".

07 Jan 2024

Most Popular Stories

Other Articles

Biden’s warning on arms shipment: We will fight ‘with our fingernails’ if we must, says Netanyahu

Netanyahu suggested he maintained good relations with Biden but that Israel “will do what we have to. We have had our disagreements but we will do what we have to do to protect our country.”

9 minutes ago

Climate activist Greta joins pro-Palestinian protest march against Israeli’s Eurovision participation

"I am a Eurovision fan and it breaks my heart but I'm boycotting. I can't have fun knowing that Israel is there participating when all those kids are dying. I think it's just wrong," 30-year-old protester Hilda, who did not want to provide her surname, told AFP.

13 hours ago

First groups of pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia to attend this year’s Hajj

The first groups of Muslim pilgrims from several countries, including Pakistan and India, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday ahead of next month’s Hajj. Hajj is expected to begin on or around June 14 and conclude on June 19.

13 hours ago

Slovenia to recognise Palestinian state by mid-June

"The horrors we see every day in Gaza are inadmissible and must stop," Golob was quoted as saying on the government X platform. "I call on Israel to put an immediate end to its attacks on Gaza and to use the negotiating table."

15 hours ago