Iraqi court upholds Baghdad governor’s retirement

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Administrative Court rejected, on Monday, an appeal seeking to overturn the decision referring Baghdad Governor Abdul-Muttalib Al-Alawi to retirement.

The court ruled that the arguments presented in the appeal were “insufficient” and lacked “legal justification” to halt the implementation of the retirement order, according to a copy of the decision.

On February 2, the Baghdad Provincial Council issued an administrative order retiring Governor Abdul-Muttalib Al-Alwi after he reached the legal retirement age. A formal document, signed by Council Chairman, Ammar Hussein Al-Qaisi, confirmed that “the decision was based on a State Council ruling and legal provisions mandating retirement at age 60.”

However, Al-Alawi contested the decision, arguing that “the amended Law on Provinces Not Incorporated into a Region does not set a specific retirement age for governors.” This decision has also sparked backlash from the State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by Nouri Al-Maliki, which has denounced the move, as “illegal and politically motivated.”

The coalition accused Council Chairman Ammar Al-Qaisi of making a unilateral decision without broader political consensus, pointing out that some officials receive exemptions from the mandatory retirement age.