ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In a document dated February 15, Iraq’s president rejected the appointment of Salahadin’s governor, claiming he has previously been charged with criminal cases, therefore invalidating his candidacy for the position in what is believed to be a controversial decision.

In the document made public on Saturday and seen by The New Region, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid rejected the appointment of Ahmed al-Juboori (Abu Mazen) as the governor of Salahadin, claiming that his election was contrary to the law.

The document states that Juboori has previously been charged with criminal cases and has been subject to a general amnesty, therefore nullifying his election as governor.

Juboori was elected as governor of Salahadin after his party gained the majority of votes in the provincial elections in December.

His candidacy was opposed by parties affiliated to the Coordination Framework, who make up a majority in the Iraqi government.

Addressing the president's rejection of Juboori’s election, members of his party believe that the decision is political as there is legal precedent for his case.

“We believe that the decision is illegal and has a political motive,” Sabhan al-Hussein, member of Juboori’s Jamahir party, told The New Region on Sunday. “We will take legal measures.”

According to Hussein, the Federal Supreme Court has previously in 2022 dealt with similar allegations against Juboori and ratified his parliamentary membership, raising the argument that if Juboori had been accepted as a parliamentary member by the country’s top legal authority, how is it different when it comes to the provincial council.

“We are a civil party without any militias, so the law is our only approach and we hope to win the case,” he added.

The presidential decree has brought along strong criticism from political analysts.

“What is the benefit of elections? According to this rule, the President of the Republic is the one who appoints the governor, not the provincial council,” political analyst Ayad al-Anbar said in a tweet.

To some, the question does not lie in the authenticity of the allegations against Juboori, for they believe that they are true, but in why he has been able to obtain parliamentary membership and then candidacy for the governor position in the first place.

“How was he given the spotlight during his candidacy and how were the election results approved when he became a parliament member,” Iraqi political analyst Omar al-Janabi told The New Region on Sunday.

To Janabi, it is not coincidental that the document rejecting Juboori’s governorship was released on the same day that President Rashid met with militia leader Qais al-Khazali, whose party is the main opposition against Juboori’s election as governor.

“Perhaps only in Iraq, the President of the Republic goes to the leader of an armed faction, who is Qais al-Khazali. The President of the Republic visits him on the same day the announcement of Abu Mazen’s removal is made,” Janabi added. “This is strange.”

The New Region spoke to the former deputy head of the Iraqi High Electoral Commission on Sunday, asking how Juboori had made it this far with all these allegations against him.

“I think that we in Iraq suffer from a problem, which is that the Iraqi law and the Iraqi constitution are limited, which makes them susceptible to political use,” Saad al-Rawi said.

“I wonder how he was accepted as a representative in parliament with all these allegations against him? Iraqi legislators must clarify things through detailed laws so that the political process becomes clear and there is no room for political manipulation,” he added.

Additional Reporting by Bizhar Shareef.