Saturday, September 18th 2010
Political list refutes coalition’s objection to Maliki's nomination
Baghdad, The State of law Coalition (SLC) led by the outgoing Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki has denied receiving a formal ultimatum from fellow National Coalition (NC) members that includes an objection al-Maliki’s nomination as sole candidate for the post of prime minister.
SLC member Abdul-Hadi al-Hassani told AKnews on Saturday that no official objections to Maliki’s candidature for a second term in the PM’s office had been proffered by either the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) or the Kurdistan Bloc Coalition (KBC).
Al-Hassani described the statements made by “some of the National Coalition members” as "individual ", adding that they “do not represent the view of the bloc".
Wael Abdul Latif, a member of the National Coalition announced on Friday "the rejection of all members of the National Coalition bloc to accept al-Maliki as the sole candidate for the SLC for the post of prime minister."
Latif warned that "the coalition will join al-Iraqiya to form the next government if the SLC continues insisting that Maliki will be its only candidate.”
More than six months have passed since the March 7 parliamentary elections and Iraqi political forces have not yet managed to reach an agreement over the formation of the next government.
The INA and the SLC, both Shia-dominated lists, merged in May to form the National Coalition (NC) in a bid to gain the parliamentary majority necessary to form the next government.
The coalition, described by some political observers as “fragile” due to deep-seated disputes over the bloc’s leadership, has 159 seats all together but remains four seats short of the 163-member majority needed.
Fearing Maliki’s alleged tendency to act unilaterally and offer positions of authority to his personal supporters, many INA members openly opposed Maliki’s bid for a second term in power.
At the beginning of the month, the INA elected the current Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi as its own nominee for the prime minister’s position.
The National Coalition then set up a 14-member arbitrator’s committee in order to resolve disputes within the bloc over Maliki’s candidature for the premiership.
The arbitrator’s committee must now choose between Abdul-Mahdi and Maliki to head the coalition government.
Meanwhile, the al-Iraqiya List, headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which came first in the March elections with 91 seats, has threatened to withdraw from the political process if the NC ascends to power.
Al-Iraqiya were prevented from forming the cabinet after a Federal Court ruling that it was the party which held the most seats in Parliament and not the party with the highest number of votes that had the right to lead the government.
Al-Iraqiya described the super-bloc’s claim on the country’s leadership as unconstitutional on the grounds that they were not listed as a political entity before the elections took place.
The political maneuvering that Baghdad has witnessed over the past six months looks set to continue amid growing fears concerning the declining security situation in the country which has seen a recent escalation in insurgent violence.
Reported by Haider Ibrahim
Sa/AKnews
Political list refutes coalition’s objection to Maliki's nomination
Baghdad, The State of law Coalition (SLC) led by the outgoing Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki has denied receiving a formal ultimatum from fellow National Coalition (NC) members that includes an objection al-Maliki’s nomination as sole candidate for the post of prime minister.
SLC member Abdul-Hadi al-Hassani told AKnews on Saturday that no official objections to Maliki’s candidature for a second term in the PM’s office had been proffered by either the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) or the Kurdistan Bloc Coalition (KBC).
Al-Hassani described the statements made by “some of the National Coalition members” as "individual ", adding that they “do not represent the view of the bloc".
Wael Abdul Latif, a member of the National Coalition announced on Friday "the rejection of all members of the National Coalition bloc to accept al-Maliki as the sole candidate for the SLC for the post of prime minister."
Latif warned that "the coalition will join al-Iraqiya to form the next government if the SLC continues insisting that Maliki will be its only candidate.”
More than six months have passed since the March 7 parliamentary elections and Iraqi political forces have not yet managed to reach an agreement over the formation of the next government.
The INA and the SLC, both Shia-dominated lists, merged in May to form the National Coalition (NC) in a bid to gain the parliamentary majority necessary to form the next government.
The coalition, described by some political observers as “fragile” due to deep-seated disputes over the bloc’s leadership, has 159 seats all together but remains four seats short of the 163-member majority needed.
Fearing Maliki’s alleged tendency to act unilaterally and offer positions of authority to his personal supporters, many INA members openly opposed Maliki’s bid for a second term in power.
At the beginning of the month, the INA elected the current Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi as its own nominee for the prime minister’s position.
The National Coalition then set up a 14-member arbitrator’s committee in order to resolve disputes within the bloc over Maliki’s candidature for the premiership.
The arbitrator’s committee must now choose between Abdul-Mahdi and Maliki to head the coalition government.
Meanwhile, the al-Iraqiya List, headed by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, which came first in the March elections with 91 seats, has threatened to withdraw from the political process if the NC ascends to power.
Al-Iraqiya were prevented from forming the cabinet after a Federal Court ruling that it was the party which held the most seats in Parliament and not the party with the highest number of votes that had the right to lead the government.
Al-Iraqiya described the super-bloc’s claim on the country’s leadership as unconstitutional on the grounds that they were not listed as a political entity before the elections took place.
The political maneuvering that Baghdad has witnessed over the past six months looks set to continue amid growing fears concerning the declining security situation in the country which has seen a recent escalation in insurgent violence.
Reported by Haider Ibrahim
Sa/AKnews
