Court orders Wasit governor's removal suspended

Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated on 2026 May 18 at 16:02)

Iraq's Administrative Court of Justice issued an interim order Sunday suspending the removal of Wasit's governor and halting the implementation of the provincial council decisions that stripped him of his post, according to a court ruling reviewed by Shafaq News.

The court suspended decisions No. 106 and 107, adopted in session No. 77 on March 31, 2026 —which cancelled the sitting governor's appointment and elected Ali Salim Hamid al-Zuhairi in his place— pending a final ruling on the lawsuit challenging the council's action.

Mohammed Jamil al-Miyahi, head of the parliamentary Services bloc (Khadamat) and a former Wasit governor, said the provincial council chairman had convened a late-night gathering at a government building in Zubaydiyah district following a dinner at his home, then declared it an official council session. Al-Miyahi called the move unlawful and said the chairman had used the session to appoint himself governor and annul the incumbent's election.