Iraq president names deputy speaker new premier

Iraq’s new President Fouad Massoum has nominated the deputy parliament speaker to form the new government.

In a televised address on Monday, Massoum gave Haider al-Abadi 30 days to form the next government and present it to parliament for approval.

“The country is in your hands,” President Massoum told al-Abadi after accepting his nomination.

Al-Abadi was nominated for the post by the Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shia parties.

Shortly after being designated as premier, al-Abadi called for national unity against the “barbaric” campaign by the ISIL terrorists inside the country.

“We all have to cooperate to stand against this terrorist campaign…[in] Iraq and to stop all terrorist groups,” he noted.

The nomination came after incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threatened a legal action against Massoum for his failure to name a premier from the country’s largest parliamentary bloc.

Maliki’s bloc, the State of Law Coalition, won the majority of seats in April’s parliamentary elections.

Mohammed al-Ogeili, a lawmaker from al-Maliki’s list, rejected the nomination of al-Abadi saying the move “runs against the constitution.”

“This decision would lead the country to a big problem and the president bears full responsibility for this situation,” he added.

Meanwhile, al-Maliki’s son-in-law, Hussein al-Maliki, said, “We will not stay silent,” adding, “The nomination is illegal and a breach of the constitution. We will go to the federal court to object.”

Abadi, a Shia politician considered close to al-Maliki, was born in the capital, Baghdad, in 1952 and returned from British exile after the fall of former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003.