Iraq
Iraq's dismissed speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi speaking in a press conference on November 15, 2023. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s ousted Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi on Wednesday accused the country’s top court of violating the Iraqi constitution a day after the body terminated his parliamentary membership.
The Iraqi Federal Supreme court on Tuesday ruled to revoke Halbousi’s parliamentary membership and end his tenure as speaker of parliament after he was accused of forging a resignation paper, which led his influential Sunni Taqadum party to withdraw from the legislature and three ministers to resign.
“The federal court violated the constitution and this is a dangerous matter,” Halbousi said while holding a copy of the Iraqi constitution during a television appearance, accusing the court of “not complying with its own conditions in its decision” to terminate his membership.
The dismissed speaker noted that as per its laws, the court has no authority to determine the validity of an MP’s membership except if the parliament requests it to do so.
“The federal court law decides on the accusations against the presidency of the republic and ministers, not against parliament,” he said.
Halbousi is a former governor of Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province, and head of the Taqadum bloc which included 37 MPs. He was re-elected as the speaker of the parliament in January last year.
The court ruling came after another Sunni MP and former Taqadum member Laith al-Dulaimi filed a lawsuit against Halbousi, accusing him of forging his resignation from the parliament in 2022 by changing the date on the document.
The decision also jeopardizes Iraq’s highly-anticipated provincial council elections a month before their scheduled date, especially with the absence of Taqadum.
Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The term of the electoral commission is set to expire on December 7. If the parliament fails to extend the commission’s term before this date, the fragile vote could be further delayed.
The Iraqi Federal Supreme court on Tuesday ruled to revoke Halbousi’s parliamentary membership and end his tenure as speaker of parliament after he was accused of forging a resignation paper, which led his influential Sunni Taqadum party to withdraw from the legislature and three ministers to resign.
“The federal court violated the constitution and this is a dangerous matter,” Halbousi said while holding a copy of the Iraqi constitution during a television appearance, accusing the court of “not complying with its own conditions in its decision” to terminate his membership.
The dismissed speaker noted that as per its laws, the court has no authority to determine the validity of an MP’s membership except if the parliament requests it to do so.
“The federal court law decides on the accusations against the presidency of the republic and ministers, not against parliament,” he said.
Halbousi is a former governor of Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province, and head of the Taqadum bloc which included 37 MPs. He was re-elected as the speaker of the parliament in January last year.
The court ruling came after another Sunni MP and former Taqadum member Laith al-Dulaimi filed a lawsuit against Halbousi, accusing him of forging his resignation from the parliament in 2022 by changing the date on the document.
The decision also jeopardizes Iraq’s highly-anticipated provincial council elections a month before their scheduled date, especially with the absence of Taqadum.
Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The term of the electoral commission is set to expire on December 7. If the parliament fails to extend the commission’s term before this date, the fragile vote could be further delayed.
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