INA rejects Maliki as the candidate for prime minister
Friday, July 23rd 2010 3:11 PM
Baghdad, July 23 (AKnews) – The Shia-dominated Iraqi National Alliance (INA) says it rejects current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's nomination for a second term but is willing to agree with his State of Law Coalition (SLC) over another candidate, an INA official told AKnews today.
Nuri al maliki and Amar al hakim
"(The INA) had an unsuccessful experience with Maliki in the past four years and it is not ready to repeat it again," said Mohammed al-Bayati, an INA parliamentarian.
INA's heavyweights are Ammar al-Hakim's Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and Muqtda al-Sadr's Sadrist Current.
"The alliance (between INA and SLC) is still in place, but this does not prevent us from rejecting Maliki as the nominee for the prime minister position,” said Bayati. “This is a rejection of Maliki himself and his performance by the (Iraqi) National Alliance.”
Bayati warned SLC that if it insists on Maliki as its only choice, then the INA will consider joining other political blocs such as al-Iraqiya, led by former PM Ayad Allawi, and Kurdistan Alliance.
The INA and SLC, both largely Shia blocs, joined forces in May to gain the majority needed to form the next government. But the two groups have not been able to agree on a joint candidate for the prime minister position.
Four months after elections, political blocs are still deeply divided over who has the right to form the government. Al-Iraqiya and SLC each insist they are entitled to head the future government.
During last March’s parliamentary elections, al-Iraqiya came first with 91 seats. Many initially thought the Sunni-dominated bloc had the right to form the next cabinet. But an interpretation of the Constitution’s Article 76 by the country’s Federal Supreme Court last March paved the way for blocs other than al-Iraqiya to form the government.
The Court said it wasn't the bloc that won the highest number of votes that had the right to form the government, but the bloc that had the highest number of representatives when the parliament convened.
Maliki’s SLC secured the second place with 89 seats and INA came third with 71 seats. Together, they have the parliamentary majority to form the government.
A combination of Kurdish groups gained 57 seats, ending up fourth.
Internal differences between INA and SLC have only exacerbated the problem. INA has repeatedly demanded SLC to nominate more than one candidate for the head of the future government.
INA’s largest group, the Sadrist Current, has strongly opposed Maliki’s nomination for a second term. Sadrisst are angry with Maliki's crackdown on their armed wing, Jaish al-Mahdi, during his time in office.
Rn/Ms/AKnews
Con esta lista y la lista de los Sadrs, ya Allawi tiene la mayoria para la formacion del Gobierno....uuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyComo dice mi amiga la Licenciada...Ahora es que esssssssssssssssssssssss........
Vie Jul 23, 2010 1:12 pm