Iraqi PM Removes Key Officials, Vows to Fight Corruption
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi abolished top government positions and vowed to crack down on graft after thousands protested against corruption.
Abadi, in a decree announced on Facebook and Twitter Sunday, said the positions of vice presidents and deputy prime ministers will be abolished immediately, Bloomberg reported.
The posts are now occupied by Sunni and Shiite officials, including former prime ministers Nouri al-Maliki and Ayad Allawi.
The move sets up a battle between Abadi and his opponents in the cabinet and parliament, which both need to approve the decrees. The prime minister said the decisions were “in the national interest” and vowed to open “past and present corruption files” under the supervision of an anti-graft commission.
Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets on Friday to protest what they describe as widespread corruption in OPEC’s second-biggest producer. While the plunge in oil prices and the battle against ISIL militants are depleting the government’s coffers, many Iraqis say corruption is compounding the nation’s economic woes.
Shortly after Abadi’s announcement, Abdel-Sattar al-Bairaqdar, spokesman for the judicial authority in Iraq, said prosecutors ordered an investigation into charges against Deputy Prime Minister Bahaa al-Araji, al-Sumaria television reported without elaboration.
Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, urged the prime minister on Friday to tackle the problem and fire any official “who tries to hinder reform, no matter what their position is.”
Abadi also decided to reduce the number of bodyguards assigned for government officials, according to the decree. Senior positions in ministers and independent agencies won’t be part of the “sectarian or partisan quota,” Abadi said.
