Iraq's vice president accuses PM of surpassing his constitutional powers

Iraq’s vice president has accused Haider Al-Abadi of surpassing his constitutional powers by requesting reforms, including the removal of all of the president’s deputies from their positions. Osama Nujaifi made his accusation against the prime minister on Monday following a meeting between President Fouad Masum and his deputies on Sunday.

“We were surprised with Al-Abadi’s series of reforms and that he had not consulted any of the political powers about them,” Nujaifi told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency. “Reform is an important step and the prime minister’s requests are reasonable but some of them exceed his constitutional powers, including the dismissal of governors and heads of independent bodies and making appointments through committees that he has formed.”

Nujaifi said that he expects the Iraqi parliament to approve Al-Abadi’s reforms on Tuesday without any in-depth discussion because of popular pressure following demonstrations in a number of provinces. However, he criticised the cabinet for giving the green light to Al-Abadi’s reforms package. “The cabinet has made a big mistake by voting on the reforms,” he insisted.

The vice president also accused the Iraqi government of lacking seriousness in the fight to retake Nineveh province from the grip of ISIS.