BAGHDAD, Iraq,
April 20 — Under intense domestic and American
pressure, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari of Iraq
dropped his bid to retain his job on Thursday,
apparently breaking a political deadlock that had
stymied the formation of a government and fostered a
power vacuum in which lawlessness and sectarian
violence had thrived.
But while Mr. Jaafari's capitulation could resolve a
serious stalemate, other daunting political
challenges lie ahead as leaders battle over
remaining high-level posts and the government faces
the task of reviving a moribund civil sector and
resuscitating confidence in public leadership.
Mr. Jaafari won the nomination in February by a
single vote in a ballot among the Shiite political
leadership, in part because of support from the
anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr. But his
nomination triggered a groundswell of opposition
among Sunni Arab, Kurdish, secular and even some
Shiite politicians, who criticized him for weak
leadership that had failed to improve public
services or stem the violence. |
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari |
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Leaders of the Shiite bloc, the United Iraqi
Alliance, met throughout the day to deliberate new
nominees; as the largest bloc in the Iraqi
Parliament, the alliance has the constitutional
right to name the prime minister. Members of the
alliance said a meeting of the full membership — 130
representatives — had been called for Saturday.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, suggested at a
joint news conference with other political leaders
that the opposition blocs would not oppose the
Shiites' next nominee.
The acting speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Adnan
Pachachi, postponed a meeting of the 275-member
assembly until Saturday afternoon to allow more time
for negotiations.
"I believe that we will succeed in forming the
national unity government the people are waiting
for," Mr. Pachachi said at the news conference, held
at the convention center inside the fortified Green
Zone, where the Parliament meets.
It remained unclear why Mr. Jaafari gave in
Thursday, especially after having vowed Wednesday in
no uncertain terms that he would not relinquish his
nomination.
In the letter to the Shiite alliance, which was read
at a news conference by an official from Mr.
Jaafari's Islamic Dawa Party, the prime minister
said he was leaving the matter of the nomination to
the Shiite bloc. "I return this choice to you to
take the action you deem appropriate," he said. The
alliance could choose to reassert his nomination,
but leaders across the political spectrum said that
was highly unlikely given the dispute it has
engendered and his weakened position within the
bloc.
In a late-night televised address to the nation, Mr.
Jaafari said he did not want to impede the progress
of the alliance. "I can not accept being a barricade
or looking like a barricade," he said.
Some officials speculated that the Shiites may have
caved in under the threat that Sunni Arab, Kurdish
and independent blocs might form a larger coalition
to commandeer the right to pick a prime minister.
Mahmoud Othman, a member of Parliament and senior
official in the Kurdish political alliance, said it
appeared that the Shiite clerical leadership in
Najaf, particularly the country's most influential
Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
had forced Mr. Jaafari's hand.
"Jaafari resisted as long as he could, but he
reached the point where he couldn't resist any more
because of the pressure he had from Najaf," he said.
Ashraf Qazi, the top United Nations envoy in Iraq,
met Wednesday with Ayatollah Sistani to press the
need for Shiite politicians to resolve the impasse
over the prime minister.
The Shiites have also come under intense pressure
from the American government to resolve the dispute,
including a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice earlier this month. American officials have
lobbied the Shiites to replace Mr. Jaafari because
of his close ties to Mr. Sadr, who commands the
loyalty of a vast and unpredictable militia, and his
relationship with Iran, where Mr. Jaafari lived for
many years in exile.
Although it remains a possibility that the Shiites
could again throw their weight behind Mr. Jaafari,
support for him within the bloc has eroded over the
last two months. The most likely possibility is that
the bloc will choose another candidate from Mr.
Jaafari's Islamic Dawa Party, according to Khalid
al-Atiya, an independent member of the bloc. Several
days ago, Shiite leaders agreed that Dawa could
nominate a candidate if it withdrew Mr. Jaafari's
candidacy.
NY Times.com
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