The incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party has dismissed the nomination of Haider al-Abadi as the country’s new premier.
The party said in a statement on Monday that al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition holds the majority of seats in parliament and only accepts him as the nominee for premier’s post.
Reading the statement on state television, Khalaf Abdul-Samad, a member of Dawa Party, said al-Abadi “only represents himself.”
Earlier on Monday, Iraq’s new President Fouad Massoum asked the deputy parliament speaker to form the new government.
Al-Abadi was nominated for the post by the Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shia parties.
The nomination came after al-Maliki threatened legal action against Massoum for his failure to name a premier from the State of Law coalition by August 10 deadline.
“I will submit today an official complaint to the federal court against the President of the Republic for committing a clear constitutional violation for the sake of political calculations,” Maliki said on Sunday.
He further noted that he would not give in to pressure to drop his bid for a third term in office.
Al-Maliki’s son-in-law, Hussein al-Maliki, also said on Monday, “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, was born in the capital, Baghdad, in 1952, and returned from British exile after the fall of former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003.
