ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Parliament is expected to discuss the suspension of the Nineveh Provincial Council (NPC) in a session on Thursday as 190 lawmakers out of 329 had petitioned for the move, the second deputy of the Iraqi parliamentary speaker, Bashir Haddad, said on Wednesday.
The suspension of the NPC has been “politicized,” Haddad told Kurdistan 24, stating the Kurdish lawmakers along with some Shia and Sunni members are against the move and will vote against it.
“It is because we believe the suspension of the NPC will not serve the people of Mosul, and it is not in the interest of the province in general,” he continued.
“This move has no political and legal justifications. Emboldening this case will not serve the political process of Iraq and the stability in Mosul city. It will bring more political instabilities to the city.”
Haddad suggested some parties were behind the move “to exploit the case and through that, secure the Nineveh Governor post,” but did not provide further details.
He noted that any decisions made in this regard should have a consensus, whether they are related to the case of the Nineveh Governor post, or the NPC.
“We are fully against the suspension of the NPC, and will do anything we can to stop such moves.”
The NPC is made up of 39 members. The last provincial election in Nineveh was held in June 2013.
In the election, the Brotherhood and Coexistence Alliance List, formed by the Kurdistan Region’s leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), is the largest bloc with 11 seats followed by Atheel al-Nujaifi’s Mutahidoon alliance with eight seats.
The subject of the NPC suspension comes after the Iraqi Parliament sacked former Nineveh Governor Nawfal al-Akub from his post on March 24.
This comes at a time where locals continue to complain of massive corruption in the Nineveh administration and Mosul city.
Nineveh, in general, and Mosul, in particular, continue to suffer from a lack of infrastructure, basic services, and security after they were considerably destroyed and damaged by years of war against the so-called Islamic State which emerged in June 2014.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) recently proposed Nov. 16 as the day to hold the already delayed provincial elections in Iraq, but the Iraqi government and the parliament are yet to approve the date.
Mayada Najar, a Kurdish KDP lawmaker in the Iraqi Parliament, previously told local media that some parliamentary blocs and factions want to propose a complete dismantling and removal of all the provincial councils in the country, a move that Iraqi political analysts warn poses its own consequences.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany