Iraq: Kirkuk governor remains until removal court challenge answered
Kirkuk govrnor Najm al-Din Karim shows an inked finger having cast a ballot during a referendum on independence from Iraq.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The ousted governor of Kirkuk will remain in office until a court challenge he filed against a decision to remove him is decided on, Iraq’s presidency said in a disclaimer.
On September 26th, Najm al-Din Karim filed a challenge to a decision by the Iraqi parliament on September 14th to remove him from office, and the courts have one month to decide on the challenge, according to the presidency’s statement.
He will continue his duties as governor until the court ruling is issued, said the statement.
The parliament ousted Karim, a senior member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, over his blatant support for holding a referendum on the autonomous Kurdistan Region’s independence from Iraq.
Kurdish authorities said 92 of voters backed independence during the poll held on September 25th.
Karim had defied the parliament’s decision and insisted to maintain office. He had been central to a political crisis with Kurdistan in March when he decided to raise Kurdish flags along Iraqi ones above government facilities in the region.
Oil-rich Kirkuk is one of a few regions where Baghdad and Erbil dispute sovereignty.