Boycott call made ahead of presidential polls in Iraq

The largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, led by powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, announced on Saturday a boycott of a session called next week to elect the country’s president.

In the 329-member house, the vote for President, a largely ceremonial role traditionally reserved for Iraq’s Kurds in post-Saddam Iraq, primarily pits the incumbent Barham Saleh against his top challenger, former minister Hoshyar Zebari, candidate of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Hoshyar Zebari’s candidacy has stirred controversy in the political circles due to years-old corruption accusations against him in court that led to his 2016 dismissal from the post of Finance Minister.

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