Iraq still has not elected a new prime minister
Iraq still has not elected a new prime minister
8-2-14
Baghdad – Nouri al-Maliki wants to run for a third term as prime minister while the Sunni and Kurdish opposition and many in his own Shia community want him to resign in favor of someone who would work for a more inclusive government.
The Iraqi parliament has already elected a speaker who is a Sunni and President Fouad Massoum a Kurd as president. By consensus the most important post of prime minister will be a member of the Shia majority.
Reports indicate that al-Maliki has urged Massoum to nominate him for prime minister. Massoum reacted to the pressure saying:
“I was elected president by all the Iraqi factions. And I would never nominate anyone for the post of prime minister without all parties’ consent and blessing…if I am pressured to nominate a candidate, I will not hesitate to step down.”
Apparently, al-Maliki’s State of the Law party submitted a petition to Massoum to nominate al-Maliki for president. In accordance with the Iraqi constitution the prime minister should be elected from the largest coalition group in the national assembly. So far the Shiite parties that hold the most seats in the legislature have not announced major coalitions. However, State of the Law group with 93 seats in the parliament has insisted on nominating al-Maliki to be the only Shiite candidate.
Both Kurdish and Sunni factions in parliament are absolutely against a third term for al-Maliki. Even the Shia groups are divided with the powerful Al-Sadr bloc opposed to al-Maliki. Even the spiritual leader Shiite Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani has urged Al-Maliki not to run for a third term.
In a new development leaders of the Shia religious community have joined in supporting the position of al-Sistani in a rare but significant venture in the political realm. The world top six grand ayatollahs have indicated that they support the position of al-Sistani and urge Shiites to follow his advice on political matters.
Sistani supported a democratic system for Iraq and he also favors an inclusive government. Although al-Maliki publicly supports Sistani the Ayatollah would seem to be disappointed in al-Maliki’s alienation of the Sunni and Kurdish minorities and is concerned that al-Maliki’s policies promote sectarian conflict. Sistani has in the past refused to meet with leaders from Europe or the US but recently met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Ban praised the Ayatollah in his remarks.
Western powers definitely want al-Maliki gone. In fact al-Maliki uses this fact as a talking point to claim that the drive to keep him out of power is directed from abroad. However, that pressure may also be coming not just from the west but Iran as well that up to now has been a firm supporter of al-Maliki.
Without a different prime minister a successful battle against ISIS and reconciliation with the Kurds may be impossible. For now the slaughter goes on. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari reported that 266 people were killed and 87 injured in recent fighting and blamed the advance of the Islamic State (ISIS) on al-Maliki.
digitaljournal.com
