Ex Iraqi interim PM puts forward initiative to resolve political deadlock

Baghdad, June 6 (IANS) Former Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has put forward a seven-point initiative to resolve the country's political deadlock in the wake of the early parliamentary elections last October.

Allawi, also former Iraqi vice president and head of the National Coalition, said in a statement that the initiative includes choosing an interim government tasked with holding fair elections, appointing a new electoral commission to organise the elections, and approving a new electoral law, Xinhua news agency reported.

The initiative by the 78-year-old called on granting the prime minister-designate in the interim government the freedom to choose his ministers on the basis of competence and integrity, administer the country's affairs, and implement a government program that serves the interests of the people, according to the statement.

The ongoing disputes among the Shiite parties have hampered the formation of a new government, as the parliament has been unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament under the constitution during the past months.

If elected, the president, whose tenure is limited to two four-year terms, will then appoint the head of the government, or the prime minister.

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Sadrist Movement has vowed to form a new national majority government from the winning parties in the elections after his followers took the lead with 73 seats in the Oct. 10 elections.

Al-Sadr's pro-Iran rivals and some other parties, however, want to form a consensus government to include all political blocs, as with the case of all successive governments since 2003.