Al-Jaafari clears way to be replaced as PM

updated 8:02 a.m. ET April 20, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Embattled Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari cleared the way Thursday for Shiite leaders to withdraw his nomination for a second term, a step that could break a months-long standoff that is blocking the formation of a new government.

Shiite lawmakers planned to meet Saturday to decide whether to replace al-Jaafari, who faced fierce opposition from Iraq’s Kurdish and Sunni Arab parties.

“The alliance is leaning toward changing (the nomination). The majority opinion is in favor of this,” said Bassem Sharif, a lawmaker in the seven-party Shiite coalition.

The move represents the first sign that al-Jaafari has abandoned his quest to keep the prime minister’s post, only a day after he had repeated his steadfast refusal to step down.

The United States had put strong pressure on the Shiites to resolve the standoff quickly so they could form a government able to stabilize Iraq amid increasing sectarian violence.

The dramatic announcement was made shortly before a planned session of the Iraqi parliament to try to jump-start formation of a new government. The Shiites asked that the session be postponed until Saturday or Sunday, after they resolve the issue of al-Jaafari’s nomination, said Shiite official Ridha Jawad Taqi.

Al-Jaafari 'not sticking to this post'
Jawad al-Maliki, spokesman for the prime minister’s Dawa party, told reporters that “circumstances and updates had occurred” prompting al-Jaafari to refer the nomination back to the alliance “so that it take the appropriate decision.”

Al-Maliki said the prime minister was not stepping down but “he is not sticking to this post.”

Al-Maliki and another leading Dawa politician, Ali al-Adeeb, have been touted as possible replacements for al-Jaafari.

NBC VIDEO Turning on their own April 19: Families are fleeing their homes, fearing that they will be the next targets as Iraqis turn against their own. NBC's Richard Engel reports. Nightly News

The largest bloc in parliament, with 130 lawmakers, the Shiite alliance gets to name the prime minister subject to parliament approval. But the Shiites lack the votes in the 275-member parliament to guarantee their candidate’s approval unless they have the backing of the Sunnis and Kurds, whom they need as partners to govern.

The Sunnis and Kurds, however, rejected al-Jaafari, blaming him for the recent rise in secular tensions in Iraq.

Al-Jaafari won the alliance nomination two months ago by only one vote, relying on support from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

With the deadlock dragging on, more Shiite lawmakers have shown a willingness to dump him — though they have been reluctant to do so overtly and break the coalition. Al-Jaafari, meanwhile, repeatedly refused to step aside, saying as recently as Wednesday that doing do was “out of the question.”

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