Six Shiite MPs filed a complaint against Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, weeks ahead of parliamentary elections.
The complaint, filed on Sunday, reflects the deep divisions within the ruling Coordination Framework alliance that brought Sudani to power.
The complaint accuses the PM of forming an electoral coalition and abuse of power for electoral gains. It has since been referred to the relevant court.
The complaint was filed by MPs Yousef al-Kalabi, Yasser al-Husseini, Faleh al-Khazali, Alaa al-Haidari, Haitham al-Fahd and Mohammed Nouri. They belong to different political blocs and observers noted that it excluded other components in the country, such as Sunnis, Kurds and Turkmen.
They said that regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the complaint reflects the obvious divisions within the predominantly Shiite Coordination Framework as it was filed against a fellow Shiite it had brought to power.
The complaint accused the PM of handing out gifts for electoral gains and threatening heads of political blocs and parliamentary candidates and extorting them through the media.
In August, the president, prime minister, parliament speaker and head of the Supreme Court agreed on “strict” conditions that bind ministers, government and partisan officials and electoral candidates to ensure the integrity of the elections.
On whether the complaint will impact Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development coalition and his electoral chances, legal expert Ali al-Tamimi said that not every complaint filed before the judiciary is based on evidence.
A “productive” complaint must be based on evidence and documents, and this one does not, he explained.
He added that such complaints “are often filed ahead of elections with the aim of influencing votes, nothing more, nothing less.”
Separately, Sudani, speaking at a campaign rally in the Nineveh province, said the elections were a “battle between those who want to reproduce failed and corrupt projects, and those who are seeking reconstruction and development” - a reference to his rivals in the Coordination Framework, specifically former PM Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law alliance.
“We want a strong state that takes decisive decisions and that sides with the citizens and meets their expectations,” he went on to say, calling for a heavy turnout in the elections.
“There can be no repeating past mistakes (...) the priority now lies in serving the people and addressing their concerns and needs,” he declared.
Some 7,900 candidates are running in the November 11 polls to elect members of the 329-seat parliament. It will be the sixth election since Saddam Hussein’s ouster in 2003. Some 21.4 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.
