September 27, 2010Iraq Shiite alliance resumes meeting to discuss naming new premier
Baghdad - A coalition of Shiite Iraqi parties is expected to resume Monday evening to announce their candidate for the contested post of prime minister, amid a political impasse that has left the country without a government for nearly seven months.
"The National Alliance will meet again this evening to name a prime minister for the new government,"said Ali al-Fayyad, a lawmaker with the alliance, without elaborating the reasons behind the postponement of their scheduled meeting earlier.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is seeking a renewed term in office and has aligned himself with popular Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim's Iraqi National List to form the National Alliance, which became the largest bloc in parliament with 159 deputies.
That total, however, is still four seats short of a majority.
Though candidates in the National Alliance want the prime minister to come from their ranks, some are opposed to al-Maliki being head of government and favour his competitor, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
Political tensions have followed the elections for the 325-member parliament, and the lawmakers' only session in June lasted 20 minutes.
In the March 7 election, former premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya List won 91 seats, as to 89 for al-Maliki's State of Law coalition.
Allawi, who insists he should be in charge because his bloc won the highest number of seats, said he does not recognize the National Alliance, and described it as a desperate attempt to "consolidate political sectarianism."
http://www.einnews.com/news.php?vid=CpgwPCCBIvoR0PX4
