Iraq’s Maliki Stresses Rule of Law
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki underlined that according to the country’s Constitution, the prime minster, whose bloc wins the largest share of the parliamentary seats in elections, will have the authority to form the government.
In a Monday meeting with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Baghdad, Maliki reaffirmed his commitment to law and the Arab country’s Constitution, saying he will stick to the time frame for the different political development in Iraq, according to Alsumaria news.
Maliki won the lion's share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in April’s national elections, dealing a blow to the rivals who opposed his serving a third term.
Kerry was also quoted by Reuters as saying after his meeting with Maliki that the Iraqi prime minister has "on multiple occasions affirmed his commitment to July 1" as the date to start the formation of a new government.
Iraq’s efforts to form a new government come against the backdrop of deteriorating security situation following large-scale insurgency by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists.
In the meantime, Al Nashra cited Head of the Iraqi National Alliance Ibrahim al-Jafari saying in a televised interview that “what is happening in Iraq is an attempt to undermine the country’s security in order to disrupt the political process.”
“The ISIL is not after establishing a country, but its aim is to ruin the regulations, values and thoughts,” Jafari noted.
In early June, following its full-blown offensives in Iraq, the ISIL seized control of most parts of Mosul, the second most populous city in Iraq and its surrounding Nineveh province.
The terrorists’ attacks have reportedly forced more than half a million people in Nineveh Province to flee their homes.
The Takfiri (extremist) terrorists are said to have entered Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to destabilize the Arab country.
For the insurgents, gaining ground in Iraq is a dramatic step towards the goal of erasing the modern border altogether and building a caliphate across swaths of Syria and Iraq.