BAGHDAD, Aug 17 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, yesterday, invited rival political parties to a meeting today, to seek a solution to the political deadlock through a national dialogue.
“I invite leaders of the national political forces, to a national meeting at the government palace today, to launch a national dialogue for a solution to the current political crisis,” al-Kadhimi said in a statement.
Iraq is “experiencing political challenges and a political deadlock, along with their repercussions on the government’s performance,” al-Kadhimi told the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday, according to a separate statement by his media office.
Earlier in the day, al-Kadhimi accepted the resignation of Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, who cited “the rampant conflict between the political parties that affected the implementation of reforms” as the reason for resigning, said the government spokesman, Hassan Nadhim.
Al-Kadhimi’s invitation came, as the political disputes escalated in the past weeks, between the prominent Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, and his rivals, the Coordination Framework (CF), an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties.
During the past months, the continued disputes among the Shiite parties have hampered the formation of a new Iraqi government, making it unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament, under the constitution.
If elected, the president will appoint the prime minister, nominated by the largest alliance in parliament, now the CF, to form a new government, that would rule the country for the next four years.– NNN-NINA
