ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari is set to appear before parliament on Thursday on charges of corruption, following impeachment of two other ministers since August and the resignation of a third.
Adil Noori, an independent Kurdish MP and member of the Iraqi parliament’s Integrity Committee, said he has collected enough signatures in the 328-seat parliament to summon Jaafari for questioning.
“I have so far collected 72 signatures and I will not withdraw them,” Noori warned. “Even if they withdraw my soul, I will not withdraw my petition."
Noori believes that Jaafari is not “the right person or qualified enough to be the foreign minister. Somebody else should run this position.”
Earlier this week, Noori told Rudaw that Jaafari will be questioned by MPs, and if his answers are not convincing 25 MP signatures can have him impeached.
Noori alleged he had evidence of nepotism and abuse of power by Jaafari, which he intends to expose when the minister is questioned.
Iraq is facing intensified crises on several fronts. At a time when an offensive to liberate the city of Mosul from two years of occupation from the Islamic State (ISIS) is thought to be only weeks away, the ministers of finance and defense have been sacked and the interior minister has resigned.
MPs sacked former defense minister Khaled al-Obeidi in August and ex-finance minister Hoshyar Zebari last month. Interior minister Muhammad Ghabban resigned in July.
“Today we fight ISIS. We have bigger problems to deal with than impeaching and ousting our ministers,” said Sadiq Youhanna, an MP from the Shiite Coalition Bloc in parliament.
“It is not possible to impeach a minister like Mr. Jaafari over some cases that he is not responsible for,” he said.
Earlier this week Ahmad Haji Rashid, an Iraqi Kurdish MP, told Rudaw that several legislators are also putting together another plan to impeach the health and electricity ministers to answer the same charges of corruption and nepotism.
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