Leaders request National Alliance to replace PM Maliki

22/05/2012 11:31

BAGHDAD, May 22 (AKnews) - A request signed by four political leaders was handed over to the National Alliance (NA) calling for the replacement of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by another candidate chosen by the alliance, said Iraqiya List today.

Iraqiya spokeswoman Maisoon al-Damlouji said the four leaders who signed the request are Leader of the Sadrist Movement Muqtada al-Sadr, Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani, Iraqiya List leader Ayad Allawi and speaker of the Iraqi parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.

Iraqiya MP Hussein al-Shaalan said in a statement for al-Mada newspaper on Sunday that Sadr insisted in the meeting between the leaders in Najaf to set a deadline of one week for the NA to end the unresolved political crisis and to answer the letter of the leaders' meeting in Erbil.

Sadr announced that the agreement on the rejection of dictatorship and autocracy was the best result of the meeting of representatives of blocs and parties in Najaf.

The National Accord Movement, led by Ayad Allawi, stated on Sunday that the political blocs held a meeting in Najaf and decided to postpone withdrawing confidence from Maliki to first of all agree on what would happen post-withdrawal.

Sadr, Barzani, Allawi, Nujaifi and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met in Erbil on April 28 to write a letter outlining a number of political demands.

The letter was sent to National Coalition (NC) leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari and gave PM Maliki 15 days to respond or else the leaders would withdraw confidence from his government. The deadline ended last week and Sadr denied on Friday receiving any response from the NC to the letter.

The Iraqi constitution defines two ways to withdraw confidence from the PM according to article 61. The first involves a request filed by the president and secondly through the Council of Representatives at the request of one fifth of members. Such a request cannot be submitted before the PM is interrogated.

The Council of Representatives may withdraw confidence from the PM by the absolute majority of its members seven days after the submission of the request.

Mariam al-Rayyes, adviser in the media office of Maliki, announced that the PM is ready to be questioned by the Council of Representatives in a public session if the political parties ask for withdrawing confidence from him and submit justification for withdrawing confidence.

By Raman Brosk

RN/DM/AKnews

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