Former Iraqi minister of communications Mohammed Allawi was named prime minister-designate by rival Iraqi factions on Saturday after weeks of political deadlock.
The choice came as the nation weathers troubled times, including ongoing anti-government protests and the constant threat of being ensnared by festering US-Iran tensions.
The selection of Allawi, 66, to replace outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi was the product of many backroom talks over months between rival parties.
Photo: AFP
In Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Iraq’s four-month anti-government protest movement, demonstrators rejected Allawi’s candidacy.
The demonstrators, who have long said they would not accept a candidate chosen by the establishment, erected portraits of Allawi crossed with an “X.”
Some chanted: “Allawi out,” but many feared they would clash with followers of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who had reversed a decision to withdraw support from the protest movement.
Officials and analysts said that move was to gain leverage on the streets as the deadline to select a new prime minister drew near.
At least three activists said followers of al-Sadr had attacked demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Some protesters were fearful.
“The square doesn’t want him, but the problem is since Muqtada [al-Sadr] has sided with [the elites], the square cannot refuse him,” activist Kamal Jaban said. “Otherwise, there will be bloodshed.”
Al-Sadr’s followers returned to the square in their hundreds on Friday night, three witnesses said, bringing tents and supplies, and reoccupying a strategic building overlooking the square known as the “Turkish Restaurant,” as well as the Jumhuriya Bridge, which leads to the Green Zone.
Al-Sadr issued a statement saying that Allawi’s selection was “the wish of the people,” and asked protesters to carry on with the anti-government demonstrations.
If elected by parliament, Allawi would have to contend with navigating Iraq through regional confrontations between Iran and the US.
Tensions rocketed after a US drone strike near Baghdad’s airport killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
That event brought Iraq close to the brink of war and officials scrambling to contain the fallout.
He would also have to grapple with an unprecedented popular uprising in Baghdad and Iraq’s south in which at least 500 people have been killed by the security forces.
In a speech on Saturday, Allawi addressed the nation and said he would hold responsible those guilty of using force against peaceful demonstrators, create an advisory team that included protesters and prepare for early elections.
In a prerecorded statement earlier, he called on the protesters to continue their uprising against corruption and said he would quit if parliament insists on imposing names of ministerial appointees.
“I have faith in you and ask you to continue with the protests,” he said.
On Wednesday last week, Iraqi President Barham Saleh gave parliament until Saturday to select a candidate for prime minister or said he would exercise his constitutional powers and choose one himself.
Allawi was born in Baghdad and served as Iraqi minister of communications in 2006, and then again between 2010 and 2012. He resigned from his post after a dispute with former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
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