Iraq legislators vote to remove parliament speaker

Iraqi lawmakers have reportedly voted to unseat Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri and his deputies amid a major dispute in the chamber over a plan to overhaul the cabinet line-up to counter corruption.

Parliamentary sources said Thursday that the vote was held amid the absence of Jabouri and his two aides.

The parliament, called the Council of Representatives of Iraq, reconvened after two previous sessions for voting on a government reshuffle ended in chaos.

During the Thursday meeting, MPs also appointed Adnan al-Janabi, a senior tribal leader, as the acting head of the parliament.

Janabi said legislators are required to choose a new presiding board for the council during the session due to be held on Saturday.

The vote came a day after a fistfight erupted in the parliament hall. A head of the brawl, dozens of legislators had also held a sit-in inside the parliament building in protest at alleged attempts by a number of political parties and blocs to maintain their influence over key government posts.

Following the Thursday vote, Jabouri said in a statement that the session runs contrary to the constitution and that the required quorum of 165 was not reached.

This is while three lawmakers, including Niyazi Oghlu, who were present at the meeting, put the number of participants at more than 170.

The parliament voted on March 28 to give Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a three-day deadline to present his new government or face a vote of no-confidence.

SS