SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A group of lawmakers has launched a campaign to gather signatures to remove speaker of the Iraqi parliament following his behavior towards an independent lawmaker, MP Hadi Salami said on Saturday.
Salami, who is also an independent member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, said the lawmakers’ step was in response to “the unconstitutional behavior” of Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi against lawmaker Basem Khashan.
The campaign to remove Halbousi was launched in accordance with parliament’s by-laws, he added.
On Wednesday, Halbousi said during a session that Khashan would be prevented from becoming a member of any parliamentary session and that he would also be banned from speaking until he apologizes to the parliament’s presidency after he “raised his voice inside the parliament’s hall”.
Khashan is a lawmaker for Maysan constituency. Along with lawmaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, he field a lawsuit against the first session of the parliament in which the speaker was elected in January. They called the session “unconstitutional”. The federal court suspended work of the parliament’s presidency before rejecting their lawsuit.
