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| Iraq |
| Iraqi Shi'ite factions strive to resolve political impasse |
| 2006-04-17 |
| Rival Shiite leaders agreed Sunday to allow Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's party to nominate the next prime minister on the condition that Mr. Jaafari step down, Iraqi politicians said. The move could bring the Shiite bloc closer to resolving a nearly two-month impasse over the candidate for prime minister and speed the formation of a new government. As of Sunday evening, Mr. Jaafari remained unwilling to abdicate, but officials in his party were discussing options, Shiite leaders said. To allow more time for negotiations, the acting speaker of Parliament, Adnan Pachachi, canceled a meeting of the 275-member assembly that had been scheduled for Monday. He said in a telephone interview that he had acted "against my better judgment," but that a solution might be reached within a few days. Mr. Pachachi called the meeting last week to try to set a deadline for the Shiites to resolve the issue and present a nominee to Parliament. In recent weeks, rival factions within the Shiite bloc, which holds 130 seats in Parliament, have been jockeying for the post of prime minister. The bloc, the largest in Parliament, has the right to make a nomination. The Shiites have been trying to come up with another nominee for nearly two months. The candidate who lost to Mr. Jaafari in the secret ballot, Adel Abdul Mahdi, was considered a front-runner. But Mr. Sadr despises Mr. Abdul Mahdi's party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. It appeared Sunday that Mr. Abdul Mahdi would take a vice president position rather than continue fighting for the nomination, said Khalid al-Attiyah, an independent member of the Shiite bloc. "He's no longer running for the premiership," said Mr. Pachachi, the speaker. Mr. Attiyah and Mr. Pachachi said the Shiite leaders agreed that Mr. Jaafari's political group, the Islamic Dawa Party, could nominate a candidate if it withdrew Mr. Jaafari, but it was unclear whether Dawa officials would be able to persuade Mr. Jaafari, the party's leader, to step down. Shiite politicians mention two party deputies inside Dawa — Jawad al-Maliki and Ali al-Adeeb — as possible replacements. Some Shiite officials said they saw those men as weak, like Mr. Jaafari. "The options are limited for the Dawa Party," Mr. Attiyah said. |
| Posted by:Phens Spaimp8136 |
| #1 Shooting Tater and as many of his black-pajama crew as possible would be a nice start, guys... |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-04-17 15:02 |