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Butterfly   The Iraqi parliament convenes to elect the president of the republic amid a wide boycott

The Iraqi Council of Representatives is set to meet today, Monday, to elect a President of the Republic, but the vote is threatened with cancellation or postponement as a result of a series of positions issued by parliamentary blocs and representatives who announced a boycott of the session.  These positions were preceded by the announcement of the Iraqi judiciary to suspend the candidacy of one of the most prominent candidates for the presidency, Hoshyar Zebari, as a result of suspicions of corruption.

Officially, it was decided to hold the session at noon. However, after a large number of deputies announced their boycott of the session, the quorum may not be present for the House of Representatives to convene (two-thirds out of 329 members). The Sadrist movement's bloc of 73 deputies announced a boycott of the session since Saturday.

And based on a lawsuit submitted by four deputies, the Iraqi Federal Court, which is the highest judicial body in the country, decided on Sunday, "to temporarily suspend the procedures for electing Hoshyar Zebari until he resolves a lawsuit filed against him related to accusations of corruption against him."

butterfly   The plaintiffs considered that Zebari, one of the most prominent Kurdish political figures in Iraq during the era after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, does not meet the constitutional conditions for assuming the position of President of the Republic, including being “of good reputation and integrity,” according to a copy of the case text and the court’s decision, which They were published by the official Iraqi News Agency.

They listed supporting reasons, including Parliament's decision to withdraw confidence from Zebari in 2016 when he was Minister of Finance, on the background of "accusations related to financial and administrative corruption." The lawsuit also touched on at least two other cases with which the 68-year-old former minister is associated, particularly during his tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The plaintiffs talked about the existence of "another case" against the background of Zebari's "abuse of his influence and authority by spending huge sums of money on a property that does not belong to the state." The chest block was supporting Zebari. And announced her boycott of the session before the court's decision. The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, is presented as the spearhead against corruption in Iraq, and there is no doubt that the suspicions about Zebari would embarrass him. Al-Sadr called for consensus on a presidential candidate.

butterfly  Yesterday evening, Sunday, the "Sovereignty Alliance", which includes 51 deputies, led by Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, an ally of the Sadrist movement, revealed its boycott of the session.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc to which Zebari belongs, consisting of 31 deputies, announced its boycott "for the requirements of the public interest and with the aim of completing the consultations."

These rapid developments reflect the severity of the political differences that Iraq has witnessed since the legislative elections that were held nearly four months ago, and ended with a major victory for the Sadrist movement and a retreat for the pro-Iranian blocs.

Since the country's first multiple elections in 2005 and organized after the Iraqi invasion that led to the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the position of President of the Republic has traditionally been held by the Kurds, while the Shiites hold the prime ministership, and the Sunnis hold the parliament.

About 25 candidates are competing for the presidency of the Iraqi republic, and it was believed that the competition would actually be limited to Zebari and the current president, Barham Salih. Saleh belongs to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which in practice shares influence in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

The President of the Republic must, within the 15 days following his election, choose a prime minister whose name is due to the largest coalition under the parliament. Usually, the appointment of the prime minister occurs by consensus among the major political forces.

 But so far, these forces have not been able to form an alliance or agree on the name of a candidate to head the government, a position that practically holds the executive authority, succeeding its current incumbent, Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

butterfly   Upon his nomination, the Prime Minister has a month to compose it. However, the path of the political steps seems complicated even before it is started. Muqtada al-Sadr asserts that he has a sufficient majority in Parliament to proceed with the formation of a "national majority government", hoping thus to disengage from the tradition of consensus that often obstructs the decision-making mechanism.

However, this means that it puts outside its calculations significant forces in the political arena, especially the “coordinating framework” that includes the Fatah coalition representing the Popular Mobilization Forces (mostly made up of armed factions loyal to Iran), which won 17 seats in the elections, and the “State of Law” coalition headed by a president Former Minister Nuri al-Maliki (33 seats), and other Shiite parties.

The coordinating framework, in turn, confirms that it has the majority in the House of Representatives. Iraqi political analyst Hamza Haddad told Agence France-Presse: "No one knows who is in the opposition, everyone knows how to share shares," speaking of the possibility of forming an "expanded coalition."

The political tug of war is accompanied by violent acts from time to time, many of which have targeted American interests. In late January, three rockets landed near al-Halbousi's home. The authorities also announced in November that Al-Kazemi had survived an assassination attempt https://rawabetcenter.com/archives/142034

butterfly  The future of the reference in Iraq: Who will succeed Al-Sistani?

Observers that Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the supreme reference for Shiites in Iraq (born in 1930) has reached an advanced age, is suffering from old age diseases, and the possibility of his death has become expected.

Therefore, several parties raised the issue of the succession of al-Sistani for research and discussion, and wrote studies and put forward expectations about the identity of the jurist who will succeed Al-Sistani is in a position surrounded by a lot of ambiguity and ambiguous powers and responsibilities.

In a report published by the American “Al-Monitor” website, on Thursday, December 2, 2021, it was stated that the sudden death of the Shiite religious authority, Muhammad Saeed Al-Hakim, who was the most likely candidate to succeed Al-Sistani, prompted the religious scholars in the Najaf seminary to seriously consider the stage "After Sistani".

In its report, the website clarified that this situation prompted Sheikh Muhammad Baqir al-Irwani to open an official office for him in Najaf, as it seems that he is preparing himself to be a supreme authority after the death of al-Sistani. The report also indicated that the opening of the office constitutes an important step in declaring the position of religious authority. Al-Irwani teaches one of the largest seminaries, at the highest level of religious studies.

butterfly   The position of the supreme Shiite marja’ is, in fact, a position that has almost gelatinous powers, or is not clearly defined in the shadow of the Iraqi Najaf seminary, which distinguished itself from its peer and competitor, the Iranian seminary of Qom, as it became known that the Najaf seminary does not operate according to the principle of Wilayat al-Faqih.

Rather, it believes in what is known as the state of the nation, and the great jurists of Najaf are still far from interfering in political conflicts, and they are trying to play only guiding roles, while the institution of the Guardian Jurist in Iran plays the central role in a system closer to theocratic dictatorship, where the Wali al-Faqih holds most of the powers in the Islamic Republic , assisted by a group of councils.

Sayyid Ali al-Sistani remained a reference that avoided getting into the quagmire of dangerous politics in a country with a strict totalitarian regime like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Al-Sistani is a difficult figure in the Iraqi equation under the American occupation, and then during the era of the nascent state that followed the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis.

The role of Al-Sistani’s authority emerged when he demanded the American occupation forces and the United Nations mission to set a timetable for transferring power to the Iraqis as soon as possible, and insisted on forming an Iraqi committee to write the new constitution, and put it to a vote, and this is what actually happened despite all the problems that resulted from this urgent step.

He also played important roles in suppressing sectarian strife, calming the dirty war that erupted after the bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra, as well as confronting the terrorist organization ISIS by issuing a fatwa for sufficient jihad. https://rawabetcenter.com/archives/142031

butterfly  Iraqi parliament indefinitely adjourns president election 2022-02-07 07:50

Shafaq News/ Iraq's legislative body on Monday indefinitely postponed a scheduled vote for the republic's president after most major political blocs boycotted the session.

The sweeping no-show deepens a political crisis in the war-scarred country which, almost four months after a general election, still has not chosen a new prime minister.

The assembly vote had been set for noon for the head of state -- a post with a four-year mandate held by convention by a member of Iraq's Kurdish minority, and currently occupied by Barham Saleh.

But a series of boycott calls had made it highly unlikely the 329-seat parliament in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone would be able to clinch the necessary two-thirds quorum.

Then, on Monday afternoon, with only 58 MPs, a source told Shafaq News Agency that "there will be no vote to elect the president".

The turmoil comes after October polls were marred by record-low turnout, post-election threats and violence, and a delay of several months until final results were confirmed.

Intense negotiations among political groups since then have failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to name a new prime minister to succeed Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The largest parliamentary bloc to emerge from the vote, led by powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and holding 73 seats, was first to announce a boycott, on Saturday.

butterfly   It was followed on Sunday by the 51-member al-Siyada (Sovereignty) Coalition. The 31-seat Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) then announced it would also stay away, in order to "continue consultations and dialogue between political blocs".

The Coordination Framework, a consortium of Iraqi Shiite political forces opposing the October 10 election results, also said the session should not take place, citing the recent political turmoil.

The process toward a presidential vote had been further plunged into disarray when Iraq's Supreme Court on Sunday suspended the candidacy of Saleh's key challenger, Hoshyar Zebari, 68.

The court cited corruption charges against Zebari, a former foreign minister from the KDP; allegations he denies.

Incumbent Salih, the other frontrunner out of some 25 candidates, represents the KDP's main rival in the Kurdistan Region, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Monday's postponement exacerbates Iraq's political troubles because it is the task of the president, within 15 days of being elected, to formally name a prime minister from the largest bloc in parliament. https://www.shafaq.com/en/Iraq-News/Iraqi-parliament-indefinitely-adjourns-president-election

butterfly   CBI sells +204$ million in the currency auction today 2022-02-07 06:44

Shafaq News/ The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) auctioned more than $204 million in foreign currency today, Monday.

Shafaq News Agency correspondent said that the CBI sales of foreign currency in today's auction amounted to $204,493,943, 8.51% above Sunday's $188,251,676. The transactions were made at a weighted average of 1460 dinars to every dollar.

Our correspondent explained that 21 banks and 206 exchange companies cashed out $56,920,000, while the remaining $147,573,943 went to boost funds abroad as credit and non-cash transactions, with 27 banks meeting those demands. https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/CBI-sells-204-million-in-the-currency-auction-today

butterfly  Dollar exchange rates in Iraq 2022-02-07 02:42

Shafaq News / The dollar exchange rates stabilized in the Iraqi market today, Monday (February 07, 2022).

• The Kifah Stock Exchange recorded 147,900 dinars for $ 100.

• The Al-Harthiya Stock Exchange recorded 147,900 dinars for 100 dollars.

In Baghdad  

Selling prices in the banking stores in the local markets

•Sale price: 148,500 dinars for $ 100   •Purchase price: 147,500 dinars for $ 100

In Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region

Selling prices in the banking stores in the local markets

•Sale price: 148,050 dinars for $ 100   •Purchase price: 147,950 dinars for $ 100

 https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Dollar-exchange-rates-in-Iraq-2-1-5

butterfly   Iraq's foreign currency reserves inch up to $64 billion 2022-02-07 06:52

Shafaq News/ Iraq's foreign currency reserves have risen to $64 billion, Iraqi Central Bank deputy Governor Ihsan Shemran said on Monday.

"Iraq's reserves, which includes the cash of the dollar, the euro, sterling, and other foreign currencies, in addition to the gold reserves amounted to more than 64 billion dollars." The Deputy Governor told Shafaq News Agency.

Shemran added that "Iraq's gold reserves reached 96 tons, recording the 38th place globally."

On January 19, the Central Bank of Iraq announced that the total foreign currency reserves increased significantly at the end of 2021 due to the diversified investments and management following monetary policy based on best international practices free from risks. https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-s-foreign-currency-reserves-inch-up-to-64-billion

Butterfly   Al-Zayadi: The Framework Is Determined To Reduce The Price Of The Dollar

02/06/2022 | 10:08 A   The representative of the State of Law coalition, Muhammad Al-Ziyadi, confirmed, on Sunday, that the coordination framework is determined to reduce the exchange rate of the dollar in the event that he participates in the political process, pointing out that reducing the price will be one of the conditions for voting on the Prime Minister for the next government.

Al-Ziyadi told Al-Maalouma, “The coordination framework rejected the rise in the dollar exchange rate against the dinar when voting on the 2021 budget, as this caused great damage to various segments of the people.”

He added, “Whoever was the reason for passing the budget at the current dollar price, today enjoys the majority in Parliament, and it is hoped that the course will be corrected by decreasing the exchange rate.”

And Al-Zayadi, “The coordination framework, and if it is part of the political process, it will set a condition when voting on the prime minister, as the candidate will not pass without obtaining a word from him to reduce the exchange rate, but by going to the opposition, then he cannot set the conditions but demand adjusting the price.    almaalomah.me

butterfly   Iraqi Dinar/US Dollar auction results for Monday 2-7-2022 executed today 2-6-2022

25k Iraqi Dinar notesThe results of the foreign currency sale window Monday 7/2/2022

Announcement No. (4583)

Sale date – Monday 7/2/2022   the details   the amount

Total sales for the purposes of strengthening balances abroad (remittances, credits)  147,573,943

Total cash sale  56,920,000    total total sales  204,493,943

Note that:  The selling price of the amounts transferred to bank accounts abroad is ( 1460 ) dinars per dollar.

The cash sale price is ( 1460 ) dinars per dollar.   cbi.iq/currency_auction/view/1210

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