Iraqi Parliament rules Badr Al-Fahl oath invalid
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Parliament on Tuesday annulled the constitutional oath taken by Saladin Governor Badr Mahmoud Al-Fahl, after determining that it was administered outside a legally convened parliamentary session.
In an official clarification, the media office of the Speaker of Parliament explained that the procedure violated Article 50 of the Iraqi Constitution, which requires elected lawmakers to take the constitutional oath before the Council of Representatives during a session convened with a legal quorum, as well as the election law that obliges winning candidates to complete the oath within one month of the parliament’s first session.
The statement said Al-Fahl, who won a parliamentary seat in the current term, submitted a formal request to take the oath within the legally defined timeframe, at a time when parliament repeatedly failed to convene sessions to elect a president due to the absence of political consensus. On February 1, 2026, a session scheduled to include both the constitutional oath and the presidential vote failed to convene for lack of quorum, prompting Al-Fahl to renew his request to take the oath before the expiry of the one-month deadline to preserve his parliamentary seat; the council presidency subsequently allowed him to recite the oath in the presence of several lawmakers despite the session not being legally convened.
Objections by several MPs led the Speaker to refer the matter to legal and legislative advisers, whose assessment found that the oath must be administered exclusively during a session convened with a legal quorum. Based on that opinion, the Speaker issued a parliamentary order on February 8, 2026, canceling the earlier order that had recognized Al-Fahl’s oath, describing it as administratively void for lacking essential procedural requirements and therefore producing no legal effect.
The parliamentary ruling came amid parallel developments in Saladin province, where Al-Fahl resumed his duties as governor on Monday after an administrative order revoked the mandate of acting governor Hashim Azzawi, citing non-compliance with legal requirements related to parliamentary membership and the absence of a formal resignation submitted to the Saladin Provincial Council. Later the same day, the council voted to remove Al-Fahl from office and confirm Azzawi as acting governor, concluding that Al-Fahl’s return violated the law, as he had been removed from the post on January 26, 2026, after assuming a parliamentary seat representing the province.
Under Iraqi law, holding a parliamentary seat while simultaneously occupying an executive or ministerial position is prohibited. The legal dispute continues to affect the status of Al-Fahl’s parliamentary seat, with a well-informed source noting that the potential elevation of Karim Shakour, a candidate from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, remains conditional on Al-Fahl formally submitting his resignation from parliament.
