Iraqi parliament sit-in urge sacking of president, parliament speaker, prime minister

Iraqi members of parliament holding a sit-in at the parliament headquarters reiterated their call to sack the Iraqi president, parliament speaker and prime minister, the speaker of the sit-in group Haitham al Jabouri said on Thursday.

In a press conference, Jabouri added that the group calls for sacking the three officials, holding early elections and reforming the elections commission.

He pointed out that Head of Iraqi National Movement Iyad Allawi's visit to the sit-inners was a surprise visit.

He said that three sit-inners responded to attempts to bribe them with ministerial posts, adding that they were warned and given two hours to reverse their decision before announcing their names to the public.

The number of sit-inners reached 174 and is expected to reach more than 180 soon, he said, adding that 20 other members are expected to join the group.

A number of other parliamentarians also pledged to vote yes to the sacking of the three officials.

Earlier, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Selim al Jabouri agreed to hold an emergency session to discuss demands of the parliamentarians who staged a sit-in at the parliament premises to change the government formation.

The parliament speaker has set Thursday to vote on the government line-up presented by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi on Tuesday.

Scores of Iraqi lawmakers have staged a sit-in in protest against the government formation submitted by the Iraqi premier on March 31 and demanded convening an emergency session to end the conflict. 

Source : MENA