Iraq PM Reverses Course, Allows Revote
Bowing to intense pressure, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari agreed Thursday to allow Shiite lawmakers to vote again on their choice to head the new government, abandoning his claim on another term in the face of Sunni and Kurdish opposition.
Al-Jaafari's stunning reversal appeared to mark a breakthrough in the months-long struggle to form a national unity government to try to curb the country's slide toward anarchy and enable Washington to begin bringing its 133,000 troops home.
"The one thing I cannot compromise is my dedication to this heroic people," al-Jaafari told the nation in a televised address. "I cannot allow myself to be an obstacle, or appear to be an obstacle to that. I want to be assured of the path of the alliance, which represents the will of the people."
Al-Jaafari said he agreed to a new vote so that his fellow Shiite lawmakers "can think with complete freedom and see what they wish to do."
The Shiite alliance, the largest bloc in the 275-member parliament, must now choose a replacement from a field that lacks stature and power, raising questions whether the new prime minister will be any more successful than al-Jaafari in confronting sectarian violence and the brutal insurgency.
Alliance leaders were to meet Friday to decide how to choose a nominee. If representatives of the seven alliance parties cannot reach a consensus on a single nominee, they will put several choices to a vote before the bloc's 130 parliament members Saturday, officials said.
It was unclear whether al-Jaafari's supporters would insist on him being among any candidates put to a vote, since he did not explicitly say he was out of the running.
The final choice would be presented to parliament later Saturday.
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Because of the parliament session, Talabani asked Jordan's King Abdullah to put off a reconciliation conference between Iraqi Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish religious leaders, set for Saturday in Amman.
It was unclear why al-Jaafari decided to relinquish the nomination that he won by a single vote during a ballot among Shiite lawmakers two months ago with backing from radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Jaafari had insisted Wednesday that stepping aside was "out of the question."
In a statement, al-Jaafari said he was ready "to sacrifice myself in any position of responsibility in the service of our people" and would abide by the alliance's decision for the sake of Shiite unity.
However, Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman said al-Jaafari's change of heart followed meetings Wednesday in the Shiite holy city of Najaf between U.N. envoy Ashraf Qazi and both al-Sadr and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the nation's most prestigious Shiite cleric.
Aides to al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of the Shiite alliance, said the ayatollah was frustrated over the deadlock in forming a new government and alarmed over the rise in sectarian violence that followed the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
Sunnis and Kurds had blamed al-Jaafari the rise in sectarian tension and failing to consult his coalition partners. Kurds accused him of failing to keep commitments over oil-rich Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to incorporate into their three-province self-ruled region in the north.
As the largest bloc in parliament with 130 seats, the Shiite alliance gets to name the prime minister subject to parliament approval.
But the Shiites lack the votes in the 275-member parliament to guarantee their candidate's approval unless they have the backing of the Sunnis and Kurds, whom they need as partners to govern.
With the issue over the premiership nearing resolution, Sunni and Kurdish politicians expressed optimism that the new government could be formed quickly.
"I am confident we will succeed in forming the national unity government that all Iraqis are hoping for," Sunni elder statesman Adnan Pachachi told reporters.
Bassem Sharif, a prominent Shiite lawmaker, said the alliance "is leaning toward" replacing al-Jaafari. "The majority opinion is in favor of this."
Names most frequently mentioned as possible replacements include two members of al-Jaafari's Dawa party, Ali al-Adeeb and Jawad al-Maliki. Neither is widely known among Iraqis, and neither has extensive experience in administration or government.
Al-Maliki, who fled Iraq in the 1980s and settled in Syria, is widely considered more sectarian-minded than al-Jaafari. Al-Deeb lived for many years in Iran before returning to this country following the collapse of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi is among the most capable and experienced Shiite figures but is considered unlikely for the post because of opposition within the alliance to a nominee from the biggest party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI. Abdul-Mahdi lost to al-Jaafari in the February vote.
Whoever gets the prime minister job will face enormous problems, not only in coping with sectarian violence, armed insurgency and a crumbling economy but also in maneuvering between SCIRI's powerful leader, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, and al-Sadr.
Al-Hakim and al-Sadr come from two of the most prestigious Shiite families, and each aspires for leadership of the majority Shiite community. Armed militias affiliated with the two leaders are engaged in an intense struggle for power in towns and cities throughout the Shiite heartland south of Baghdad.