Iraq Crisis: Parliament Cancels Session as MPs Challenge Speaker

Local Editor

Iraq's parliament canceled a session to discuss anti-graft reforms Saturday, state TV said, as some MPs disputed the legitimacy of the speaker to chair the meeting in an escalation of a political crisis crippling state institutions.

The session is the third to be canceled this week as politicians bicker over a plan to overhaul Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's cabinet by bringing in technocrats in a bid to stem corruption.

The session was not held because "parliament couldn't be secured" by the security forces, said a statement from the office of the speaker, Salim al-Jabouri.

The statement was apparently referring to MPs who say Jabouri has no right to chair the session and who met Thursday in his absence and held a ballot to oust him.
They stress they have a majority in the assembly.

Abadi has warned that the crisis could hamper the war against Daesh terrorists, who continue to control regions in northern and western Iraq.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team