Quarrelsome Shiite bloc to pick new PM
(The Age)
Updated: 2006-04-18 10:41 Rival Shiite leaders have agreed to allow Prime
Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's party to nominate the next prime minister on the
condition that Dr Jaafari step down.
The move could bring the Shiite bloc closer to resolving a nearly two-month
impasse and speed the formation of a new government.
But Dr Jaafari (left) remained unwilling to resign, despite officials in his
party discussing the option.
To allow more time for negotiations, the acting Speaker of Parliament, Adnan
Pachachi, cancelled a meeting of the 275-member assembly scheduled for last
night.
In recent weeks, rival factions within the Shiite bloc, which holds 130
seats, have jockeyed for the prime ministerial post. The bloc, the largest in
Parliament, has the right to make a nomination. Dr Jaafari, considered by many
to be an ineffectual leader, won the nomination in February by a single vote. He
is backed by the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
|