Al-Samarrai's al-Azm appeals to the Iraqi president to help reverse al-Halboosi's removal of al-Dulaimi

Shafaq News/ Muthanna al-Samarrai's al-Azm bloc on Sunday called for the Iraqi president's intervention to "rectify the course of the legislative authority" amid a heated controversy following a decision by parliament speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi to dismiss lawmaker Laith al-Dulaimi.

An official correspondence purportedly stamped by al-Halboosi's seal said that al-Dulaimi was to be removed from legislature per a resignation letter he submitted earlier.

Al-Azm, in a statement earlier today, said that al-Halboosi's decision reflects a flagrant "dictator and tyrannical" behavior, stressing that the decision was a "revenge against political adversaries" and a "frank violation of the parliament's internal law".

The statement demanded the Iraqi president to inquire the federal court about the legal basis of al-Halboosi's decision and the resignation al-Dulaimi submitted to ensure such situations are not abused in the future.

Al-Azm urged the Iraqi lawmakers to take a "responsible stance to protect the political process and democratic path the Iraqis offered martyrs and injured people."

"It is the time to rectify the leadership of the legislative authority," it concluded.

Al-Dulaimi, a former member of the Takaddom party, led by al-Halboosi himself, denounced his removal as "illegal" and "despotic".

Al-Dulaimi said in a statement that he was astonished by the decision and expects his colleagues in al-Siyada Coalition, a merger of the Sunni leading blocs (Takaddom and Azm), and other blocs in the Iraqi parliament to take a deterrent stance against "dictatorship", "unilateralism", and "abuse of authority".

On April 22, 2022, al-Halboosi removed al-Dulaimi from the Takaddom party for "his non-adherence to the party's directions and violations of the regulations of the party's internal code."