IHEC to replace MPs implicated in anti-corruption campaign
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) will begin procedures to replace lawmakers convicted or facing judicial rulings under the government's Dawn Crackdown anti-corruption campaign, MP Saqr Al-Muhammadawi told Shafaq News on Thursday.
Al-Muhammadawi, a member of the Sadiqoun parliamentary bloc, stated that according to available information, some MPs whose parliamentary immunity was lifted are not accused of corruption. "One of them merely sent a recommendation to a deputy minister by phone, which is different from someone who embezzled billions of Iraqi dinars and stole public funds."
Al-Muhammadawi also argued that the case involving MP Hussein Moanes, head of the Huqooq parliamentary bloc, was politically motivated.
His remarks came after Coordination Framework leader Amer Al-Fayez said on Monday that an arrest warrant had been issued for Moanes after his parliamentary immunity was lifted. Al-Fayez claimed the lawmaker had left Iraq and was reluctant to return, adding that the charges against him were unrelated to the case involving Deputy Oil Minister Adnan Al-Jumaili and that he technically remains a member of parliament despite the judicial proceedings.
The investigation involving Al-Jumaili has been ongoing for more than a month and has led to the arrest of several lawmakers and officials across Baghdad, including in the Green Zone, as part of the anti-corruption campaign.
The official state news agency (INA) identified the detainees, including Muthanna al-Samarrai, head of the al-Azm Alliance and a member of parliament, as well as sitting lawmakers Ziyad al-Janabi, Bahaa al-Nouri, Mohammed al-Karbouli, Aliya Nasif, Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi, Hassan al-Khafaji, Abdul Rahman al-Luwaizi, Mudhar al-Karaawi, Hind al-Abbasi, Mohammed Furman al-Jubouri, and Bushra al-Qaisi.
Read more: Iraq's Dawn Crackdown by numbers: 67 arrests explained
