Why do some Iraqi MPs refuse to be sworn in?
More than a year from the formation of the Iraqi parliament, some members of the parliament refuse to be sworn in, hoping to gain executive posts.
BAGHDAD — A crisis involving the naming of vice presidents and legislators who don't attend parliament is showing the limits of Iraq's laws. There is no deadline for the president to choose his deputies or a mechanism to dismiss or hold accountable members of parliament who refuse to attend legislative sessions.
Nouri al-Maliki, a former vice president and prime minister who now serves in parliament, said in a radio interview at the end of August that he wanted to be vice president again and that the delay of President Barham Salih in choosing his deputies is “a clear violation of the constitution.” This matter also shed light on the issue of members of parliament who have yet to be sworn in.
