Iraqi court suspends former foreign minister Zebari's nomination for presidency
The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq says it has temporarily suspended prominent Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari’s presidential bid, just one day ahead of parliament's election of a new president.
The court said on Sunday that it has made the decision after receiving a complaint from lawmakers that Zebari's candidacy was "unconstitutional" because of the graft claims, adding it looks into corruption allegations dating back to 2016.
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The Iraqi parliament in September 2016 dismissed then finance minister Zebari, a politician from the Kurdistan Democratic Party who had served as foreign minister for more than a decade, on charges of corruption and mismanagement. Zebari, 68, has always denied all corruption accusations.
Last week, the court received a petition by four lawmakers demanding Zebari’s expulsion from the presidential race over the same allegations.
In its ruling, the court said it had "decided to temporarily suspend the procedures of electing (Zebari) for the position of President of the Republic until the case is resolved."
Zebari was not immediately available for comment but he had previously rejected the "politically motivated allegations" against him.
Public funds worth $1.8 million were allegedly diverted to pay for airline tickets for his personal security detail.
He was one of two main contenders for the largely ceremonial post of president, which the parliament was to vote on Monday. The incumbent Barham Saleh is the other favored candidate for the position.
The parliament's vote will come four months after a parliamentary election led to Influential cleric Muqtada Sadr’s Sairoon coalition won 73 seats in the 329-member house.
The largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, led by Sadr, announced on Saturday that it has suspended talks with other factions for the formation of the next government, and declared a boycott of Monday's parliamentary session to elect a new president.
Head of Sadr's parliamentary faction, Hassan al-Adhari, told a news conference in the capital Baghdad that all negotiations meant to establish the future government have been suspended indefinitely, saying no member of the Sadr faction would attend the parliamentary session.
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