#IRAQ: Top Court Bars Kurdish Presidential Candidate

[world politics news]

Iraq’s top court banned a veteran Kurdish politician from the country's presidency on Sunday, citing lingering corruption allegations.

Hoshyar Zebari, a former foreign minister and longtime Iraqi diplomat, had been a front-runner competing against the sitting president, Barham Salih. In Iraq's political system, parliament votes to pick the president who in turn appoints the prime minister.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#IRAQ: Accusations Of Vote-Rigging, Broken Voting Machines In Kurdistan Lead To Gunfights, Calls For Re-Vote

[world politics news]

Electronic voting was used across Iraq for the first time in this past weekend's parliamentary election in an effort to secure the process. But parties at stations across the northeast reported that broken voting machines prevented people casting ballots before the polls closed at 6 pm. Many said this was intentional to swing the outcome. Six Kurdish parties along with the Wataniya bloc, led by Iraq’s vice-president Ayad Allawi, have demanded a re-run of the election in the Kurdistan region, parts of Ninewa and Kirkuk.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#IRAQ: Kurdish Regional Leader Says Voters Said "Yes" In Independence Referendum

[world politics news]

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said on Tuesday that Kurds had voted "yes" to independence in a referendum held in defiance of the government in Baghdad and which had angered their neighbors and their U.S. allies. Only Israeli Prime Min. Benjamin Netanyahu offered public support for a "Yes" vote. The Kurds, who have ruled over an autonomous region within Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, consider Monday's referendum to be a historic step in a generations-old quest for a state of their own.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#IRAQ: Kurdish Lawmakers Move Ahead With Controversial Independence Referendum

[world politics news]

Iraqi Kurdish lawmakers have voted to move ahead with a controversial independence referendum. The vote comes amid international opposition and internal political disputes within Kurdish ranks.

[FULL STORY HERE]