Federal Supreme Court ends al-Halbousi tenure as Speaker

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Nov 2023 03:40

The Federal Supreme Court in Iraq terminates the tenure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as the membership of an MP.

A photo shows Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi, heading a session of parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 5, 2020. (AP)

The Federal Supreme Court in Iraq issued on Tuesday a decision to terminate the tenure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohammad al-Halbousi, in a step that came based on a “forgery” lawsuit filed by one of the members of parliament.

The decision to terminate the tenure of al-Halbousi, as of November 14, 2023, was also concurrent with the decision to terminate the membership of MP Laith Mustafa Hamoud al-Dulaimi, who filed the lawsuit against al-Halbousi in the first place.

The trial began last February before the Federal Supreme Court after a complaint filed by al-Dulaimi accused the al-Halbousi of “forging” the date of a resignation request in his name that had been previously submitted, with the aim of expelling him from Parliament.

Al-Halbousi dubbed the decision "blatantly unconstitutional" and "clear political targeting," his Taqaddom party mentioned, adding that three government ministers backed by al-Halbousi will resign in protest of the ruling.

بيان حزب تقدم في العراق … pic.twitter.com/vFfFO2aLYK
— حزب تقدم (@TakadumParty1) November 14, 2023

The statement of the Taqaddom party highlighted that “the party’s leaders and deputies met after the issuance of the decision to terminate the tenure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohammad Al-Halbousi," adding that "after studying the issue, we decided that the party’s representatives in the federal government, namely the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Planning, would resign."

Earlier in September of 2022, the Iraqi parliament had voted to grant its confidence to House Speaker Mohammad Al-Halbousi after the majority of MPs refused to agree to his resignation.

The vote "renewed the confidence in Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi, with 222 members of parliament rejecting his resignation," the Iraqi parliament said in a statement.

The total amount of voters was 235 MPs, and the number of those who accepted al-Hablousi's resignation was 13 MPs, the Parliament revealed. The Iraqi House of Representatives has 329 seats.