Iraqi parties boycott parliament vote for President

Baghdad: In Iraq, a Kurdish political party and a Sunni political alliance have announced to boycott the parliament session slated to begin today to elect a new president for the country.

A Sunni political group, named al-Siyada Alliance, headed by businessman Khamis al-Khanjar, said in a separate statement that they have decided not to participate in the Council of Representatives session to support dialogue among political parties.

On Feb 5, the Sadrist Movement, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which won 73 seats out of 329 seats, also decided to boycott today's parliament session. The boycott from the three political groups for the parliament session threatens to postpone the session



until further notice.

The boycott also came after the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court decided to suspend the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP's) nomination of Hoshyar Zebari for the presidency until a corruption lawsuit against him is resolved.

On Jan. 31, the Iraqi parliament announced the names of 25 candidates for the presidential election scheduled for Feb. 7, including incumbent President Barham Salih who represents the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, former Foreign Minister and Finance Minister Zebari from the KDP, and Rizgar Mohammed Amin, former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that organized the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.