BAGHDAD —
Iraq's Supreme Court said Sunday it had temporarily suspended Hoshyar Zebari, a
frontrunner for the presidency, on the eve of parliament's vote on the
position, citing years-old corruption charges against him.
اضافة اعلان
It was the second blow in 48 hours to
Zebari's presidential drive, and the latest chapter in the war-scarred
country's divisive politics.
The court said it had received a complaint
from lawmakers that Zebari's candidacy was "unconstitutional" because
of the graft claims, adding that his suspension was "temporary" while
the court considers the case.
Zebari was one of two main contenders for
the largely ceremonial post of president, which the 329-member parliament was
to vote on on Monday.
The other favored candidate is the incumbent
Barham Saleh.
Iraq's highest judicial body said the
complainants consider that Zebari does not fulfill constitutional requirements
that the head of state must have "a good reputation and integrity".
The court cited his 2016 dismissal from the
post of finance minister by
parliament "over charges linked to financial
and administrative corruption".
Public funds worth $1.8 million were
allegedly diverted to pay for airline tickets for his personal security detail.
Zebari, 68, has always denied all corruption
accusations.
The complaint also cited at least two other
judicial cases linked to him, including when he was the country's long-time
foreign minister after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein in the 2003 US-led
invasion.
'Not a consensus' candidate
The court's decision is the latest chapter
in Iraq's turbulent politics.
The scheduled presidential vote follows
October legislative elections marred by record-low turnout, post-election
threats and violence, and a delay until final results were confirmed in late
December.
The largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament
now, led by powerful Shiite cleric
Moqtada Sadr, announced Saturday a boycott
of Monday's parliamentary session to elect the new president.
The bloc's parliamentary chief, Hassan
al-Izari, told a news conference they will not attend, making a vote less
likely although technically a quorum could be reached.
The presidency, with a four-year mandate, is
by a convention held by a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority. Zebari is the
candidate of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The rotund, mustachioed Zebari favors
Western suits but hails from a major Kurdish tribe and fought as a peshmerga
against Saddam's regime.
After Saddam's overthrow he served an
unbroken 2003-2014 term as foreign minister before taking up the finance portfolio
from which he was sacked.
"Our withdrawal is a message to the
Kurds, in particular to the KDP, for them to agree on a single candidate,"
a
Sadrist MP told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the
sensitivity of the issue.
The MP, whose bloc's triumph in the general
elections has left Sadr in control of complex negotiations to select a new
prime minister, said Zebari was "not a consensus" candidate.
"I have not been convicted in any
court," Zebari said in a television interview on Friday night as the
charges resurfaced alongside forecasts he would unseat Saleh, the candidate of
KDP's rival in Iraqi Kurdistan, the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
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