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Maliki's rivals lack votes to oust him
BAGHDAD: Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki called for a national dialogue yesterday after President Jalal Talabani said his rivals lacked the votes to oust him, but a protracted political row looked set to drag on.Opponents of the prime minister have for months accused him of monopolizing decision-making and a political crisis that began in December has worsened in recent weeks, with open calls from a raft of political parties to pull the plug on Maliki's national unity government. But late Saturday, Talabani said groups opposed to the premier lacked the 163 parliamentary votes required to sack him, after which Maliki issued a call on political leaders to unite to rebuild the conflict-racked country. "I take this opportunity to renew a call for all political partners to sit at the table for negotiations, and to be open to discuss all disagreements," the prime minister said in a statement. "I am sure we will be able to overcome all challenges and difficulties that are in our way," he added, while also thanking Talabani for his "constructive" role. On Saturday, Talabani's office issued a statement saying there was insufficient backing to pass a vote of no confidence against Maliki. "Due to a lack of (support), the letter of his excellency the president of the republic, although its text was prepared, was not given to the parliament," the statement said. It said more than 160 lawmakers had originally supported the motion to unseat Maliki and, by extension, his government. They included members of the secular Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, the main Kurdish faction, and the movement loyal to powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. All three of those parties are members of Maliki's national unity government. It added, however, "Later, 11 of the signed lawmakers informed the office of the presidency of the withdrawal of their signatures, while two others requested to suspend their signatures." Posted by: Steve White 2012-06-11 |
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