Iraqi politicians fail to agree on Prime Minister
IRAQI POLITICIANS have missed another deadline to name a new Prime Minister because of disagreements over which is the largest bloc in parliament.
Thousands of Iraqis continued to protest and block roads yesterday in Baghdad and across the predominantly Shiite south, rejecting any candidate belonging to political groups that have ruled the country for years.
The protests follow a long night in which some politicians tried to convince President Barham Saleh to name an Iran-backed politician for the post, two Iraqi officials said.
The midnight deadline on Sunday for naming an interim Prime Minister passed with no apparent solution in sight.
The two officials said Mr Saleh had threatened to resign if he was forced to name a candidate whose nomination is opposed by the public.
The protesters have been closing roads for days, saying they will not accept the nomination of the outgoing higher education minister, Qusay al-Suhail.
A statement read through loudspeakers in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square said the protesters reject candidates that belong to political groups they blame for widespread corruption.
Iraq’s leaderless uprising has roiled the country since October 1, with at least 400 people killed in the violence. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to decry corruption, poor services and a lack of jobs, while also calling for an end to the political system imposed after the 2003 US-led invasion.
Pressure from the demonstrations led Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to resign late last month, after Iraq’s most powerful religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, withdrew support for Mr Abdul-Mahdi’s government.
Last Friday, Mr al-Sistani, in his weekly sermon delivered by a representative, called for political blocs to form the government quickly.
The Iran-born Mr al-Sistani said that the new Prime Minister should be accepted by the public.