March. 9, 2010 Jaafari warms to ties with Iraq's Maliki
BAGHDAD, March 9 (UPI) -- An alliance with the State of Law coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in the best interest of the country, a former prime minister said.
More than 60 percent of eligible Iraqi voters turned out for parliamentary elections during the weekend. Unofficial results indicate the State of Law coalition led by Maliki made a strong showing in the polls.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who leads the Shiite National Reform Movement, told the Iraqi analytical Web site Niqash he was warming to an alliance with State of Law.
"We are not only inclined to do so but we also have strong conviction, deeply rooted in our national values, to enter into such a coalition, because we want to represent all the Iraqi people, regardless of their ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliations," he said.
Jaafari joined former Pentagon insider Ahmad Chalabi to run under the National Iraqi Alliance slate. The slate includes some of the more sectarian political parties in Iraq, including those loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Jaafari said Iraqi law gives the majority bloc in Parliament the right to nominate the next prime minister. Despite anticipations of a modest sea change in Baghdad, however, the former Shiite prime minister said to expect the status quo.
"In democratic transformations, the move toward change and progress is usually gradual and leaps only tend to come rarely," he said.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who leads the Shiite National Reform Movement, told the Iraqi analytical Web site Niqash he was warming to an alliance with State of Law.
"We are not only inclined to do so but we also have strong conviction, deeply rooted in our national values, to enter into such a coalition, because we want to represent all the Iraqi people, regardless of their ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliations," he said.
Jaafari joined former Pentagon insider Ahmad Chalabi to run under the National Iraqi Alliance slate. The slate includes some of the more sectarian political parties in Iraq, including those loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Jaafari said Iraqi law gives the majority bloc in Parliament the right to nominate the next prime minister. Despite anticipations of a modest sea change in Baghdad, however, the former Shiite prime minister said to expect the status quo.
"In democratic transformations, the move toward change and progress is usually gradual and leaps only tend to come rarely," he said.
UPI.com
