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| Iraq |
| Iraq's winning bloc rejects Maliki as PM again |
| 2010-09-26 |
| [Al Arabiya] The alliance which won most votes in Iraq's March election said on Friday it would not join any government headed by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a step that could further complicate forming a government. Iraqiya, a cross-sectarian alliance led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, was the bloc that won the most seats in the 325-seat parliament, heavily backed by minority Sunnis. Iraqiya, a broadly secular coalition which drew most of its support from Sunni areas, won 91 seats out of the 325-member parliament in the March 7 polls, two more than Maliki's State of Law Alliance, a Shiite grouping. "Iraqiya believes the current type of government headed by Maliki cannot be repeated, so Iraqiya will not take part in any government headed by him," the bloc said in a statement released late on Friday. On Tuesday, the Shiite-led National Alliance, a merger of Maliki's coalition and the Iranian-backed Iraqi National Alliance (INA), gave itself five days to pick a nominee for prime minister in a move to end a six-month impasse since the vote. Osama al-Nujaifi, a senior member of Iraqiya, said his bloc would not recognize the National Alliance or any decisions it makes, but would be willing to start negotiations to form a national coalition government, particularly with the INA. "Iraqiya will not take part in any government headed by Maliki, this is definite," he told Rooters. "Iraqiya is ready to open a serious dialogue with the winning blocs and especially the Iraqi National Alliance, according to the earned election and constitutional rights.". Iraqiya also said on Saturday it regarded the newly formed National Alliance as "a desperate attempt to strengthen political sectarianism". But Maliki's partners refused to support his bid for a new term and nominated outgoing vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi as a rival candidate. Some Iraqi politicians said Maliki was in a favourable position to win the National Alliance nomination, despite doubts that he could persuade others outside the alliance to work with him. "There have been some suggestions before that Maliki would form the government. Now, many political parties reject Maliki," said Mohammed Allawi, a senior member of Iraqiya. "I think it is very difficult for Maliki to become a prime minister again. You can't form a government without Iraqiya." The deadlock has coincided with Washington's declaration that combat operations in Iraq have officially ended, and fed fears the political vacuum could offer an opening to bully boyz to further destabilize the country. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during talks in New York on Thursday with her Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari that Iraq needed to form a government and avoid creating a security vacuum. |
| Posted by:Fred |