Agriculture Minister Withstands Impeachment Motion

Lawmakers voted on Wednesday to keep Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati in office after he faced an impeachment trial over his mismanagement of resources meant to support farmers and overhaul the key sector.
Out of the 229 parliamentarians present, 105 backed the no-confidence motion and 117 voted against. Seven lawmakers abstained, ICANA reported.
The minister had been accused of failing to reduce unnecessary imports of agriculture products, find new export markets and promote modern cultivation techniques and technologies to preserve natural resources.
The vote had also been called over his lack of plans for investment in infrastructure and machinery, disregard for inflation in pricing staple foods such as wheat, insufficient support for the country's nomads, slow progress in tackling the issue of dust storms and limited support for exporters of agriculture products.