BAGHDAD, Iraq - Efforts to remove Iraq’s parliament speaker Salim Jabouri have failed, as both the Iranian-backed factions and Kurdistan Region support the leading lawmaker, according to veteran Kurdish lawmaker in Baghdad, Ala Talabani. “Speaker Jabouri will stay in his position since even Iran sees him as a moderate leader,” Talabani told Rudaw, adding that the Sunni speaker has full Kurdish support. On Friday, an inconclusive majority in the Iraqi parliament voted for the removal of the 44-year-old Jabouri, who came to office in July 2014 following a broad agreement among Iraqi factions. Of the parliament’s 328 lawmakers, 130 voted for Jabouri’s removal, lacking 35 additional votes to reach a conclusive decision. Earlier this week reports indicated that around 30 other lawmakers from the Iranian-backed Badr coalition would join the MPs against Jabouri, but the group announced later it had not voted for his removal. The parliament was due to vote on Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s new ministers on Saturday amid major protests against his proposed cabinet members that he has called “a technocratic government.” The Kurdistan Region and most Sunni factions will most likely vote against the new cabinet, which they see as sectarian and without political support. On Monday the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set a new 72-hours ultimatum for the government to carry out reforms and reshuffle his ministers. Sadr said after the deadline he would ask his angry followers in Baghdad to storm government offices and “throw out” the ministers. On Monday, protesters and angry Sadr supporters forced the closure of four ministries in Baghdad.
.png&w=3840&q=75)
