– Adil Nouri, a Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) MP and head of the parliament’s Committee of Truth Inquiry, said 13 more officials of Iraq’s high electoral commission should be sacked ahead of the manual recount of votes.



“There are 13 officials, ranging from the positions of director general to head of section in the commission accused of rigging election results. These need to be ousted before the manual recount of results,” Nouri told journalists.



The third amendment of the electoral law paved the way for the sacking of commissioners and their replacement with appointed judges. It also set in motion the 100 percent manual recount of votes.



“Sacking the commissioners of the electoral commission isn’t enough. Even with the presence of appointed judges to manage the manual recount process, the employees of the commission accused of fraud can manipulate the results,” Nouri said.



The Committee of Truth Inquiry will meet with members of the judiciary and the government to make the case of their dismissal, he added.



It comes amid calls to extending the current parliament’s term to oversee the recount.



Speaking to al-Sumaria news, Nouri said extending the parliament’s term is a violation of the constitution, but he said the parliament remaining to oversee the manual recount is essential and does not constitute a term extension.



“This is a dangerous precedent. I believe political will tries to dominate the constitution and law. This is unacceptable. We await the formation of a government founded on serving the homeland and its people,” Fatih al-Sari of the Fatih coalition told Rudaw.



Sixty MPs, many of whom did not succeed in the last election, are trying to garner 166 votes on Thursday to extend the parliament’s term.



Six months ago, the federal court ruled it was unconstitutional for the parliament to extend its term.



The National Wisdom Movement (Hikma Front) of the influential Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakeem has completely rejected the extension.



“Believing in the fixed constitutional framework and in conjunction of the wishes of our dear people and their wish to revive their reality, the Hikma Front announces its thorough rejection for all calls, suggestions and ideas that seek to extend the current term of the parliament,” the Hikma Front said in a statement on Monday.



The Thursday meeting of the Iraqi parliament will determine the future of the parliament, and perhaps even the progress of government formation talks, which may drag on longer as a result.



from/rudaw