Tide Rises For Maliki No-Confidence Vote
Baghdad, Sept 7, (VOI) – Opponents of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are “growing in number,” even inside the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition itself, said a UIC member of parliament on Friday.
“There is a growing trend that views the need to set up a fresh front with the aim of driving away Maliki within a constitutional framework as pressing,” Usama al-Nejefi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The dialogue launched by the UIC with Shiite parties like the Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Islamic Fadhila (Virtue) Party, as well as some independents within the UIC is still going on, said the UIC legislator, whose bloc is the largest in the Iraqi parliament with 115 out of a total 275 seats.
“Even the Islamic Dawa Party – to which the Iraqi premier belongs – does not unanimously approve the Maliki government,” said Nejefi.
“We have to realize that opponents of the current prime minister are increasing in number because conditions in the country are unfortunately going from bad to worse. A day will come when we have a no-confidence vote for Maliki,” added Nejefi.
Meanwhile Ali al-Allaq, a legislator from the UIC, denied that any of the six parties in the coalition has coordinated with parliamentary groups to seek a majority that would deny confidence to the Maliki government.
“We know that there are some endeavors and attempts to form a parliamentary majority to strip the government of confidence. Iyad Allawi and some members of the (Sunni) Iraqi Accordance Front are making efforts in this respect, but so far none of the UIC members have coordinated with them,” Allaq, a member of the Islamic Dawa Party, said.
The Kurdistan Coalition (KC), the second largest bloc with 55 seats, had signed a deal with the Dawa, or Call, (30 seats), and Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim’s Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), which has 30 seats, to set up a quadruple alliance to back the incumbent government.
Allawi’s Iraqi National List (INL) had five portfolios in the Maliki government and 24 seats in parliament before withdrawing its ministers from the cabinet last month.
The INL withdrew after the six Sunni IAF ministers and the six Sadrist ministers quit.
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The government belongs to the Iraqis. If they vote to oust Maliki…then that’s their choice. Hopefully, they’ll think about integrating the tribes into the mix and consider putting his predecessor back in power. All-in-all it’s a good development.
September 7th, 2007 at 8:35 am[…] Tide Rises For Maliki No-Confidence Vote – Pat Dollard […]
September 8th, 2007 at 5:55 am