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Agence France-Presse

Iraq’s president said Thursday that he was “ready to resign” rather than put forward the candidate of a pro-Iranian coalition for the post of prime minister, deepening the country’s political crisis.
Barham Saleh’s announcement came as anti-government protesters blocked roads and bridges in Baghdad and the country’s south after torching several buildings overnight.
In a letter to parliament, Saleh said he wished to guarantee the “independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity” of Iraq.
But he cited the constitution, which obliges the president to task the candidate put forward by parliament’s biggest bloc with forming a government.


“With all my respect to [Basra province governor] Mr Assaad al-Aidani, I decline to put him forward” for the post, Saleh wrote.
As that could be seen as violating the constitution, “I place before members of parliament my readiness to resign from the position of president”, Saleh added.
Aidani is considered as the candidate of Iran, which protesters accuse of meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Weeks into a protest movement that has rocked Baghdad and Iraq’s south, leaving hundreds dead, parliament is in deadlock over the selection of a replacement for previous prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.
Iraq ‘bloodbath’: PM Abdul Mahdi to resign as death toll hits 400
He resigned last month in the face of massive demonstrations over official corruption, economic woes and poor infrastructure despite the country’s massive oil wealth.
The demonstrators oppose the entire political class and have vented their anger against leaders who are negotiating to nominate an establishment insider as the next prime minister.
The constitution however gives the biggest parliamentary bloc the right to name a prime minister, but the legislature is divided over whether the “biggest bloc” refers to the biggest coalition or the winning list in 2018 elections.
Pro-Iranian factions have touted outgoing higher education minister Qusay al-Suhail for the post, later opting for Aidani after the president rejected Suhail’s nomination. Both are unpopular choices with protesters, who also have slammed Aidani for crushing previous demonstrations in Basra province last year.

“We don’t want Assaad the Iranian!” shouted protesters in the southern city of Kut on Thursday.
An opposing bloc, the Saeroon list of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr – opposed to Iranian influence – also claims the right to name the prime minister as it won the largest number of seats in 2018 parliamentary polls.
The protesters want a technocratic premier who has had no involvement in the political system set up after the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
“The government is hostage to corrupt parties and sectarian divisions”, said one activist, Sattar Jabbar, 25, in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
Curfew in Iraq holy city after protesters burn down Iranian consulate
Smoke and flames from burning tyres in Nasiriyah, Basra and Diwaniyah blocked major roads and bridges across the Euphrates River all night, before some of these roadblocks were lifted in the morning.
In Nasiriyah, demonstrators set the provincial government building ablaze overnight for a second time since the protests began, and protesters also torched the new headquarters of a pro-Iran militia in Diwaniyah.
Iraq has been rocked by protests since October 1.

After dwindling, the street campaign has gained new vigour in recent days to rally against widespread corruption and a political system seen as beholden to neighbouring Iran.
Government offices and schools remain closed across almost all of Iraq’s south.
Around 460 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded in nearly three months of clashes between protesters and security forces.


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Iraq

Iraqi president Barham Saleh threatens to quit as he rejects pro-Iran bloc’s pick for prime minister

Iraqi anti-government protesters hold defaced posters of Basra governor Assaad al-Aidani, which say “rejected by the people” in Arabic, during a demonstration in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Thursday. Photo: AFP

FILED - 11 March 2019, Iraq, Baghdad: Iraqi President Barham Salih speaks during a press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (not pictured) at As-Salam Presidential Palace. Salih offered Thursday to submit his resignation amid ongoing protests. Photo: Ameer Al Mohmmedaw/dpa

TOPSHOT - An Iraqi anti-government protester holds a national flag as he stands by a fire at a make-shift roadblock in the southern city of Basra late on December 25, 2019. (Photo by Hussein FALEH / AFP)

Thousands of Iraqis protest against Iran’s influence as deadline for new prime minister looms

An Iraqi demonstrator gestures as tyres burn during a protest in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala. Photo: AFP

Iraqi demonstrators burn tyres during a protest in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, south of the capital Baghdad, on December 22, 2019. - Thousands took to the streets in Iraq's capital and across the south Sunday to protest against Iran's kingmaking influence, as the latest deadline for choosing a new prime minister loomed. (Photo by Mohammed SAWAF / AFP)

Anti-government protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. Thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Baghdad and Iraq's southern provinces on Sunday, rejecting the nomination of what some call an Iran-backed candidate for the prime minister's post. The demonstrations came as a midnight deadline loomed without a solution being reached to name an interim premier. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi formally submits resignation as widespread violence continues

Anti-government protesters gather in Tahrir Square, Baghdad. Photo: AP Photo

FILE PHOTO: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi speaks during a symbolic funeral ceremony of Major General Ali al-Lami, who commands the Iraqi Federal Police's Fourth Division, who was killed in Salahuddin, in Baghdad, Iraq October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily/File Photo

Anti-government protesters shoot fireworks in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. Celebrations have erupted following an announcement by Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, would be resigning. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi forces kill dozens of protesters as uprising intensifies after Iranian consulate torched

Iraqi protesters clash with Iraqi security forces. Photo: AFP

epa08030657 Smoke clouds rise from a military base which was reportedly stormed by Iraqi protesters during clashes with security forces in Nasiriyah city, some 370km southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, 28 November 2019. Security forces have reportedly fired live rounds and tear gas at anti-government protesters in Nasiriyah killing at least 18 protesters and wounded some 120 others, according to medical officials. EPA-EFE/HAIDER AL-ASSADEE -- BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Iraqi demonstrators take part in the ongoing anti-government protests in Kerbala, Iraq November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa al-Deen

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Leader says appointing Basra governor Asaad al-Aidani would not placate protesters or help end weeks of unrest
Announcement comes as anti-government demonstrators block roads and bridges after torching several buildings overnight



Barham Saleh says appointing Basra governor Asaad al-Aidani as prime minister would not placate protesters or help end weeks of unrest.


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