Sistani calls for agreement on "a new prime minister" before Tuesday's session

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PanARMENIAN.Net - The most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq called on the country's leaders on Friday, June 27 to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that could hasten the end of Nuri al-Maliki's eight year rule, Reuters said.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who commands unswerving loyalty from many Shi'ites in Iraq and beyond, said political blocs should agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly elected legislature meets on Tuesday.

Sistani's intervention makes it difficult for Maliki to stay on as caretaker leader as he has since a parliamentary election in April. That means he must either build a coalition to confirm himself in power for a third term or step aside.

Sistani's message was delivered after a meeting of Shi'ite factions including Maliki's State of Law coalition failed to agree on a consensus candidate for prime minister.

The United States and other countries are pushing for a new, inclusive government to be formed as quickly as possible to counter the insurgency led by an offshoot of al Qaeda, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

The embattled Maliki accused his political foes of trying to prevent parliament from meeting on time and stirring up violence to interfere with the political process.

"They worked to postpone the elections... and now they are working to postpone the first session of the council of representatives... but if they are not able to pressure us to postpone, they will go for inciting security incidents in Baghdad," he said during a televised meeting with commanders.

Over the past fortnight, militants have overrun most majority Sunni areas in northern and western Iraq with little resistance, advancing to within an hour's drive of Baghdad.

Iraq's million-strong army, trained and equipped by the United States at a cost of some $25 billion, largely evaporated in the north after the militants launched their assault with the capture of Mosul on June 10.

Thousands of Shi'ite volunteers have responded to an earlier call by Sistani for all Iraqis to rally behind the military to defeat the insurgents.

Under Iraq's governing system put in place after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the prime minister has always been a Shi'ite, the largely ceremonial president a Kurd and the speaker of parliament a Sunni.

Negotiations over the positions have often been drawn out: after the last election in 2010 it took nearly 10 months for Maliki to build a coalition to stay in office.

Divvying up the three posts in the four days before parliament meets, as sought by Sistani, would require leaders from each of Iraq's three main ethnic and sectarian groups to commit to the political process and swiftly resolve their most pressing political problems, above all the fate of Maliki.

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Baghdad - Iraq's feuding political leaders are under mounting pressure to set aside their differences after a call by the country's most revered Shiite cleric for an agreement on the next prime minister before parliament meets next week.

The appeal by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday came as the country seems increasingly in danger of falling apart, with the al-Qaeda breakaway group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant having seized much of northern and western Iraq and the Kurds asserting control over long-disputed territories outside their autonomous region.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bloc won the most seats in April's election, but he is now fighting for his job, with even fellow Shiite allies and key patron Iran exploring alternatives to replace him. Critics have charged al-Maliki with monopolising power and failing to address long-festering grievances by the Sunni minority.

But al-Maliki, who has governed the country since 2006, has proven to be a savvy and hard-nosed politician, and so far he has shown no willingness to step aside.

Less than three years after the last American troops left Iraq, Washington has found itself being pulled back in, with drones now flying over Baghdad to protect American civilians and newly deployed US military forces.

Inclusive government

Washington has stopped short of demanding al-Maliki step aside, but in what is widely seen as veiled criticism of his divisive leadership, has called for a more inclusive government.

Al-Maliki personally won the most votes in April, and his State of Law bloc won the most seats by far, but he failed to gain the majority needed to govern alone, leaving him in need of allies to retain his post.

That has set the stage for what could be months of arduous coalition negotiations. After 2010 elections, it took Iraqi politicians nine months to agree on a new prime minister. Now, unlike four years ago, the territorial cohesion of Iraq is at stake.

Seizing on the sense of urgency, Sistani called on politicians to agree on the next prime minister, parliament speaker and president by the time the new legislature meets on Tuesday, a cleric who represents him said in a Friday sermon.

Doing so would be a "prelude to the political solution that everyone seeks at the present," the cleric, Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalaie told worshippers in the holy city of Karbala.

The reclusive al-Sistani, the most revered figure among Iraqi Shiites, rarely appears or speaks in public, instead delivering messages through other clerics or, less frequently, issuing edicts.

Deeply divided political class

In Washington, the Obama administration backed al-Sistani's call for Iraqi leaders to agree on a new government "without delay."

"It's my understanding he was calling for a process that's in line with the constitution, just to do it very quickly," State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters. "Which we certainly agree with because we think the situation is so serious that they need to move with urgency."

Still, the probability that Iraq's deeply divided political class can mend its differences in the span of days is unlikely.

The United States and other world powers have pressed al-Maliki to reach out to the country's Sunni and Kurdish minorities. Sunnis have long complained of being discriminated against and unfairly targeted by the security forces.

The Islamic State has taken advantage of Sunni discontent to fuel its rise. The group's stunning advance earlier this month, in which it seized Iraq's second largest city Mosul and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, was made possible in part because Iraqi security forces melted away in the face of the onslaught.

Security

The United States has already deployed 180 of 300 troops promised by President Barack Obama to assist and advise Iraqi troops.

The US also has started flying armed Predator drones over Baghdad to protect US interests in the Iraqi capital, a Pentagon official said on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the new flights on the record.

On Friday, al-Maliki warned army commanders in televised comments that militants were likely to try to undermine security in the Iraqi capital ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary session.

But he struck an upbeat tone about the military situation, saying the armed forces have regained the initiative and are now on the offensive, citing a Thursday raid on the militant-held city of Tikrit as an example.

Two Iraqi security officials, meanwhile, said several second-hand Sukhoi fighter jets the government purchased from Russia will arrive within days at an air base in southern Iraq. Iraq's air force, which has been decimated over the past two decades, had Sukhoi jets in its fleet before the 2003 US-led invasion.

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