BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – The most influential Shi’ite cleric in Iraq called on the country’s leaders yesterday 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.
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 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.
