Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid has filed a lawsuit against the country’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. The lawsuit was filed over the non-payment of salaries to government employees in the autonomous Kurdistan region. This incident has further highlighted the differences within Iraq’s top leadership.
According to AFP from Baghdad, President Rashid, who is himself a Kurd, filed the lawsuit last month against Prime Minister Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami. However, his advisor, Hawri Tawfiq, officially disclosed this information on Sunday.
In the lawsuit filed in Iraq’s highest court, President Rashid has requested a permanent order to ensure the payment of salaries, so that economic disputes do not obstruct the process.
Although financial disagreements between Baghdad and the regional capital of Kurdistan, Erbil, have been ongoing for years, the government had previously pledged to ensure uninterrupted salary payments.
Analysts believe that Iraq’s public service sector has long suffered from inefficiency and corruption, and there has been a longstanding conflict between Prime Minister Sudani and President Rashid.
While the salaries for January have been paid, the salaries for December remain unpaid, causing frustration among government employees.
Recently, Kurdistan’s regional president, Nechirvan Barzani, thanked Prime Minister Sudani for his cooperation on salary payments and other financial matters. However, Kurdish government employees have expressed their anger over the continued delay in salary payments.
On Sunday, when hundreds of people from Sulaymaniyah attempted to protest in Erbil, the police used tear gas to disperse them, according to local media reports.