Sinjar to boycott new local government in Ninewa

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The mayor of Ninewa’s Sinjar district on Monday said that it will boycott the new local government in the province in protest against its decision not to include members from outside the Hadbaa List. “Sinjar’s residents and local government announced their boycott of the new local government in Ninewa, which includes members of al-Hadbaa List only,” Dakheel Qasem Hassoun told IraqiNews.com news agency. Meanwhile, a member of the new Ninewa council from al-Hadbaa List, Abdulrahim al-Shamri, expressed his surprise at the statements, arguing that the Iraqi constitution allows any bloc to occupy key positions in the council. The final results of the Ninewa provincial council elections, held on January 31, 2009, saw al-Hadbaa list winning 19 seats, followed by the Ninewa Fraternity list with 12 seats and the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi three seats as well as one seat for each of the Christians, the Shabaks and Yazidis. Sinjar district lies 120 km west of Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, which lies 405 km north of Baghdad. SS (P) 1