BAGHDAD —
Iraq’s Supreme Court on Sunday ruled out a bid by veteran politician Hoshyar
Zebari to run for president after a complaint filed against him over corruption
charges.
اضافة اعلان
Zebari, 68, who
served as foreign minister for a decade after the 2003 US-led invasion that
toppled dictator
Saddam Hussein, had already been suspended temporarily from
the contest on February 6, the eve of the scheduled presidential vote in
parliament. He was one of two frontrunner candidates.
Postponement of
that vote exacerbates war-scarred Iraq’s political uncertainty because the
president — a largely ceremonial post — names a prime minister from the largest
bloc in parliament. Months after legislative elections, the head of
government still hasn’t been named.
Following the
court’s decision, Zebari on Sunday protested what he called an “injustice”
based on a political decision to keep him out of the race, and stressed his
innocence.
Iraq’s highest
judicial body made its ruling after MPs submitted a complaint against Zebari.
The complaint said his participation would have been “unconstitutional” because
of the outstanding corruption charges, leaving him without the required “good
reputation and integrity.”
“The federal court
decided in its verdict to invalidate the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari to the
post of president of the republic,” state news agency INA announced.
Controversial history
The February 7 voting session was not held due to lack of a quorum after
several political blocs and parties announced boycotts — against the backdrop
of competing claims to a parliamentary majority.
Zebari was
initially tipped as a favorite, along with incumbent President
Barham Saleh,
out of a total of roughly 25 candidates.
The complainants to
the court cited Zebari’s 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.
The complaint also
cited at least two other judicial cases linked to Zebari.
“I have not been convicted in any court,” Zebari
said in an earlier television interview, as the charges resurfaced on the eve
of the scheduled parliamentary vote, alongside forecasts that he would unseat
Saleh for the four-year posting.
On Tuesday,
parliament announced the reopening of registration for presidential candidates,
a post reserved for Iraq’s Kurds.
Zebari said Sunday
that his movement, the
Kurdistan Democratic Party which runs the autonomous
Kurdish region in northern Iraq, does not for the moment have an alternative
candidate.
Controversially,
Zebari was a keen supporter of
Iraqi Kurdistan’s ill-fated 2017 referendum on
independence which sparked a crisis between Baghdad and the KDP, almost
resulting in bloodshed between the two camps.
Iraqi politics have
been in turmoil since general elections were held in October. The polls were
marred by a record-low turnout, post-election threats and
violence, and a delay
of months until final results were confirmed.
Intense negotiations among political groups have since
failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to name a new prime minister
to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
Read more Region and World
.jpg)
.jpg)
