Al-Sudani is pursuing Al-Halbousi’s supporters with dismissals and arrests to please Al-Maliki

Al-Sudani is pursuing Al-Halbousi’s supporters with dismissals and arrests to please Al-Maliki

7-8-2023

Baghdad – The tension that prevailed in relations between Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of the State of Law Coalition within the coordination framework, and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, since the parliamentary elections that took place in October 2021, due to the latter’s alliance with the Sadrist movement, has become an open war. Sudani to the Federal Court, its latest chapters.

In this complaint, Al-Sudani challenged some items of the general budget, and considered that these items were added by Al-Halbousi as political settlements that harm the country’s economy.

This was followed by a campaign of dismissals and arrests of a number of Al-Halbousi supporters on corruption charges. Observers say that Al-Halbousi has become, on the basis of it, his last days as speaker of Parliament, and perhaps in Iraq as well, if he is affected by corruption charges raised by some of Maliki’s supporters in Parliament.

According to informed sources, the purging campaign led by Al-Sudani against supporters of Al-Halbousi is not far from a deal whereby Al-Sudani guarantees that he will be reassigned to head the government, when the time comes, which means that there are guarantees that he will remain at the head of the government until the next elections.

The campaign included relieving Muhammad Hashim al-Ani, head of the Reconstruction Fund for the provinces affected by terrorism in northern and western Iraq, from his duties on June 25, and two days later, the director of the Pension Authority in Anbar, Anas Yassin Abdul Hadi, was arrested on charges of corruption and manipulation of public money. On the first of July, the Federal Integrity Commission issued an order to arrest Ali Obaid Mater Al-Marawi, director of the Commission’s investigation office in Anbar Governorate, on charges of collusion with the first defendant in order to overlook “false transactions and financial bribes that he was receiving.”

The sources add that Al-Sudani also took the decision to dismiss the current governor of Anbar, Ali Farhan, who belongs to the Taqaddam party headed by Al-Halbousi, as part of the ongoing investigations into the waste of public funds and fraud. This is in addition to the dismissal of a number of other senior security officials, some of whom are linked to Al-Halbousi.

Observers say that the campaign aims to achieve two goals: the first is to remove al-Halbousi from the presidency of parliament, disperse his party, and pave the way for his opponents to take over the positions vacated by his supporters. The second is to show the government as capable of combating corruption, starting with the big heads. It is a demand that all previous governments that called for combating corruption remained unable to achieve because it relates to several major leaders in sectarian quota parties, and is not limited to one party.

Al-Halbousi sought to mediate Iraqi President Abd al-Latif Rashid in calming down the campaign against him, but the mediation failed, as evidenced by the fact that al-Sudani sacked, in the immediate aftermath, senior security figures, including the deputy head of the intelligence service, Majid al-Dulaimi. While government sources said that the campaign “works within the law, and arrests and exclusions are carried out on a professional basis.”

Major General Yahya Rasool Abdullah, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (the Prime Minister), said in a statement, last Wednesday, “The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, issued orders for changes in some security locations, with the aim of pumping new blood and giving the opportunity to other leaders to manage the security file.” ; In order to raise the performance efficiency of security institutions.

Evidence of the involvement of prominent politicians in acts of corruption is abundant, which makes pursuing the leaders of the Taqaddam Party a double-edged sword. However, the overthrow of al-Halbousi is a matter worth adventurous from al-Maliki’s point of view, because it provides more stable guarantees for future alliances, so that the experience that almost made Muqtada al-Sadr the party tasked with forming the government thanks to al-Halbousi’s support for him will not be repeated, along with the leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which It is still receiving its “share” of marginalization and gradual weakening.

Observers say that the campaign against Al-Halbousi is taking place within the framework of a deal that the representative of the State of Law Coalition, Aref Al-Hamami, revealed some of its aspects, as it requires Al-Sudani to remain in his position and renew for him in a second term, not if he succeeds in removing Al-Halbousi, but rather if he himself succeeds in not being a threat to influence. Maliki.

◙ The campaign against Al-Halbousi is taking place within the framework of a deal that requires Al-Sudani to remain in his position and renew it if he succeeds in removing him

Al-Hamami warned Al-Sudani, during a television interview on May 17, “against thinking of establishing a political party and forming an electoral coalition for it to enter the upcoming elections, because he will not get a second term, and the coordination framework will stand against him.” He added, “Al-Sudani did not come to the presidency of the government because his bloc has seats, but rather because of his personal cleanliness (his integrity), and he must be smart and keep working at the same pace that brought him to his position.” He said, “We want him (the Sudanese) to remain as he is now without forming a party, and to do whatever he wants during his position, because everyone is supportive of his government, and thus he may get a second term, otherwise he will not reach it again.”

There are indications that al-Maliki has succeeded in attracting opponents of al-Halbousi, and hopes that they will succeed in forming a force that can weaken the influence of the Taqaddam party in Anbar in particular.

And the advisor to the Iraqi prime minister for provincial affairs, Muhammad al-Masoudi, says, “One of the provinces that is groaning from financial and administrative corruption is the Anbar province, and many files have been revealed recently, and therefore the matter requires the government to play its role towards the citizens of this province.”

Observers estimated that the period of al-Halbousi’s stay in office may not exceed the date of the local elections on December 24, and if his party is defeated in it, his removal from the presidency of Parliament will not require much effort.

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