August 25, 2010
Maliki’s nomination for 2nd term won’t affect Iraqiya’s negotiations with National Alliance
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A leading source in Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya has said on Tuesday that the nomination of incumbent Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, for a second four-year term in office would not affect the bloc’s ongoing negotiations with the National Alliance, representing his State of Law bloc and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) of Shiite leader Ammar Al-Hakim.
“The nomination of Maliki by the National Alliance, along with the Alliance’s other candidates for the post of the new Iraqi prime minister, shall not affect the continuation of our negotiations with Maliki because our negotiations are continuing in a good and progressive way,” Iraqiya member, Kadhim al-Shimari told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The National Alliance had announced last Sunday its acceptance to name Maliki, along with other candidates, for the post of prime minister, within what the Alliance termed as a condition that ”Maliki would present guarantees to correct his (political) course”.
The Alliance did not give any details about the nature of that course.
“Sadr is playing a positive role in the said negotiations, through exerting pressure to convince other political forces that are members of the National Alliance to achieve a genuine alliance with al-Iraqiya bloc, despite the Movement’s nomination of al-Iraqiya’s member, Mohammed Allawi, for the new prime minister’s post, in the event that Iyad Allawi’s nomination would be rejected, due to Mohammed Allawi’s close relations with the marjaiya (top Shiite clerics),” Shimari said.
Shimari said al-Iraqiya’s argues that Dr. Allawi “remains its main candidate for the prime minister post,” pointing out that “Allawi’s acceptance as a ‘third candidate’ for the post, and to follow up a new mechanism for voting by the National Alliance, is a natural result for the pressure exerted against the Alliance on both regional or local levels, represented by the marjaiya”.
The developments are taking place at a time when the Iraqi political arena is witnessing ever-growing differences since the announcement of Iraq’s nationwide elections that took place last March.
The differences reached their highest levels between the main two blocs, al-Iraqiya and the State of Law, with the first obtaining 91 out of the new parliament’s 325 seats while the second obtained 89 seats.
The State of Law formed a coalition with the INA to garner the largest number of seats in the new parliament. This claim was rejected by al-Iraqiya bloc, which argued that it had been the winner of the largest number of seats in the parliament and that it has the right to form the new government.
On her part, Al-Iraqiya’s member, Aliya Nuseif, told Aswat al-Iraq that her bloc “had felt, through its talks with the U.S. delegations that visited Iraq recently, that the U.S. Administration wishes to support a new Iraqi government that “enjoys good relations with Iran”.
“There are American pressures on Maliki’s premiership of the new government, ignoring al-Iraqiya’s constitutional right to form he the government,” she said, adding that “the U.S. officials insist on the extension of the outgoing Prime Minister’s post for a second four-year term, stemming from the fact that they have partnership and interests that tie them with Maliki”.
Nuseif expressed conviction that the Americans “support Maliki, who shall prepare the atmospheres to ease out their interests, amid their deteriorated relations with Iran”.
She did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad had stated recently that the U.S. Administration “deals with Iraq as a sovereign country,” expecting that “once it forms its new government, it will build good relations with its neighbors.”
“We support positive relations between Iraq and its neighbors, including Iran. We also expect Iran to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and non-interference in its internal affairs, in addition to the renunciation of violence,” the spokesman said.
Iraq’s March 7 nationwide elections had ended with the success of four main Iraqi political blocs, with Allawi’s Iraqiya winning 91 seats, followed by Maliki’s State of Law with 89 seats, Ammar Al-Hakim’s INA with 70 seats and the Kurdistan Alliance of Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as well as a number of Kurdish Islamic parties with 57 seats.
SKH (F)/AmR
