Iraq
From left: Ahmed al-Jubouri Photo: Jabouri’s office. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid. Photo: President Rashid’s office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has rejected the appointment of Ahmed al-Jubouri as the governor of Salahaddin on grounds of having a “criminal background” and corruption accusations, an advisor to the president told Rudaw on Sunday.
Jubouri, widely known as Abu Mazin, was appointed by Salahaddin’s newly-elected provincial council earlier this month. The controversial Sunni politician had previously filled the role from 2013 to 2014.
In a presidential decree addressed to the Salahaddin provincial council and seen by Rudaw English, the Iraqi president said that he cannot issue a decree to approve Jabouri’s appointment “as his election violates the amended Provincial and Districts Council Elections Law No.12 of 2018 and the amended Law of Provinces Not Incorporated into a Region No.21 of 2008,” without specifying the articles based on which the decision was made.
Mukhtar al-Moussawi, an advisor to the Iraqi president, told Rudaw’s Nahro Mohammed that the president was not willing to issue the decree “due to a criminal background, corruption cases, and court rulings.”
Kawa Sheikhani, an advisor to the governor of Salahaddin, confirmed that Jabouri has been disqualified from the post following Rashid’s decree, and that the provincial council will now need to appoint another governor.
“We are back to square one. We have to restart negotiations and talks to agree on a new governor,” Yassin Mohammed Ali, a member of the Salahaddin provincial council, told Rudaw on Sunday.
“The situation will not be resolved easily. It will need time until they reach an agreement and appoint a new governor,” he added.
Despite his disqualification from the Salahaddin governor post, Jabouri still keeps his seat in the Iraqi parliament, a role he has held since 2015 but would have needed to resign from if he were to assume the governorship.
Jubouri has been accused of multiple counts of corruption throughout his career and was twice convicted of car theft, in 1985 and 1992. He served three years in prison from 1992 to 1995 before receiving a pardon.
He has been repeatedly accused of receiving bribes in return for hiring individuals to fill top provincial and ministerial positions, allegations which he has denied.
Jubouri, widely known as Abu Mazin, was appointed by Salahaddin’s newly-elected provincial council earlier this month. The controversial Sunni politician had previously filled the role from 2013 to 2014.
In a presidential decree addressed to the Salahaddin provincial council and seen by Rudaw English, the Iraqi president said that he cannot issue a decree to approve Jabouri’s appointment “as his election violates the amended Provincial and Districts Council Elections Law No.12 of 2018 and the amended Law of Provinces Not Incorporated into a Region No.21 of 2008,” without specifying the articles based on which the decision was made.
Mukhtar al-Moussawi, an advisor to the Iraqi president, told Rudaw’s Nahro Mohammed that the president was not willing to issue the decree “due to a criminal background, corruption cases, and court rulings.”
Kawa Sheikhani, an advisor to the governor of Salahaddin, confirmed that Jabouri has been disqualified from the post following Rashid’s decree, and that the provincial council will now need to appoint another governor.
“We are back to square one. We have to restart negotiations and talks to agree on a new governor,” Yassin Mohammed Ali, a member of the Salahaddin provincial council, told Rudaw on Sunday.
“The situation will not be resolved easily. It will need time until they reach an agreement and appoint a new governor,” he added.
Despite his disqualification from the Salahaddin governor post, Jabouri still keeps his seat in the Iraqi parliament, a role he has held since 2015 but would have needed to resign from if he were to assume the governorship.
Jubouri has been accused of multiple counts of corruption throughout his career and was twice convicted of car theft, in 1985 and 1992. He served three years in prison from 1992 to 1995 before receiving a pardon.
He has been repeatedly accused of receiving bribes in return for hiring individuals to fill top provincial and ministerial positions, allegations which he has denied.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment