Saturday's session was scrapped because "parliament couldn't be secured" by security forces, said a statement from the office of the speaker, Salim al-Juburi, whose position is under threat as some Iraqi lawmakers say they have enough votes to replace him.
MPs tried to hold their own meeting to replace him, but that too was eventually called off.
|
|
Influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a statement asking all the ministers to immediately resign.
He vowed to start protests in 72 hours if the nation's leaders failed to vote on a technocrats’ cabinet.
The latest cancellation came after chaotic scenes inside parliament earlier this week, when MPs came to blows and argued over a plan to overhaul Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's cabinet by bringing in technocrats in a bid to check corruption.
Dozens of lawmakers have staged a sit-in inside the parliament building to protest what they say are attempts by powerful factions to maintain control of posts in government.
Some MPs said they met on Thursday in Juburi's absence and held a vote to remove him.
Juburi, meanwhile, said it was Abadi who failed to show up at the voting session he had called for on Thursday and that the quorum was not even reached to hold a simple debate.
State TV showed pictures of the assembly session held on Thursday and counted 131 MPs - Iraq's parliament has 328 seats.
Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said if the MPs succeeded in replacing the speaker, their "next step is to summon the PM and some are calling for his impeachment as well".
Iraqi governments have been formed along political and sectarian lines since the US-led 2003 invasion that deposed Saddam Hussein.
Street and political protests against this system, which critics say contributes to corruption, have been increasing in recent months.
No comments:
Post a Comment