Iraq president sues PM over unpaid Kurdistan salaries

BAGHDAD: Iraq´s president has sued Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani over unpaid salaries for civil servants in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, bringing into focus a rift in the country´s leadership.

President Abdul Latif Rashid, a Kurd, filed the lawsuit against Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami last month, but his adviser, Hawri Tawfiq, only announced it on Sunday. The case, submitted to Iraq´s top court, seeks an order to ensure salaries are paid “without interruption” despite ongoing financial disputes between Baghdad and Arbil, the regional capital.

Iraq´s public sector is wracked with inefficiency and corruption, and analysts say Sudani and Rashid had long had disagreements. While public sector workers received their January salaries, they are still waiting for their December pay.

Tawfiq said the lawsuit was only disclosed now because of protests over missed payments in Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan´s second-largest city and the president´s hometown. The adviser later said that Rashid “values” the efforts made by the Sudani administration to address financial issues and that the lawsuit sought “a suitable and constitutional solution”. Tawfiq stressed that the president was “not opposed to any constitutional authority” in Iraq and backed the federal government and the regional leadership in finding solutions.