Iraqi PM Refuses to Quit, Despite US, British Pressure
05 April 2006
Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Ibarhim al-Jaafari is refusing to give up his candidacy to lead the country's next government, despite strong appeals from the United States and Britain.
Mr. Jaafari tells Britain's Guardian newspaper that his nomination by majority Shi'ite legislators was a "democratic process" that must be followed.
But he has so far failed to win the support of minority political groups in his efforts to form a government, and was also losing support within his own Shi'ite bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance.
Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi said in a radio interview on BBC's Hard Talk program that he thinks it is time for the prime minister to step aside since others are not supporting him.
Mr. Jaafari's candidacy is one of the main sticking points that has deadlocked efforts to form a national unity government in Iraq nearly four months after parliamentary elections.
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited Baghdad to press for the formation of a government as soon as possible.
President Bush Tuesday urged Iraqi politicians to form a government without further delay. He said every day of delay is another day of violence in the war-torn country.
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