Home>News Center>World
         
 

Chalabi, Al-Jaafari to seek Iraq PM post
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-22 16:47

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Ahmad Chalabi, a secular Shiite once known for his ties to Washington, and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the conservative interim vice president, will face off in a secret ballot Tuesday to determine who will be the Shiite majority's choice for Iraqi prime minister, officials said.

Chief of the Iraqi National Congress Ahmed Chalabi leaves after a meeting of Shiite Alliance leaders at the headquarters of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq in Baghdad, Iraq Monday, Feb. 21, 2005. [AP]
Chief of the Iraqi National Congress Ahmed Chalabi leaves after a meeting of Shiite Alliance leaders at the headquarters of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq in Baghdad, Iraq Monday, Feb. 21, 2005. [AP]
The decision to hold a secret ballot came after the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance, which has most of the seats in the 275-member National Assembly, was unable to decide on a nominee — despite days of negotiations.

Chalabi spokesman Haidar al-Moussawi said the most powerful man in predominantly Shiite Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, met with interim Finance Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in the southern city of Najaf and gave his backing for whatever decision the alliance makes.

"Al-Sistani assured that whoever the alliance will choose, he will agree on him," al-Moussawi said.

Although Chalabi and his supporters claim he had the support needed for the nomination, the vote between the two 58-year-old men was anything but a sure thing.

The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the main group making up the alliance, had tried to persuade Chalabi to quit the race, some of its senior officials said.

"We had hoped that we would agree on one person without the secret ballot, because we fear that such a vote will cause divisions inside the alliance," said Jawad Mohammed Taqi, a senior member of the group, known as SCIRI.

He added that "Chalabi seems very confident and he believes that when we hold a secret ballot he will get the majority. I believe this is an exaggeration."

Whoever wins the ballot, he will face interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, 59, whose party came in third after a Kurdish coalition and received 40 seats.

"My list nominated me for the prime ministership," Allawi, a secular Shiite, said Monday.

Al-Jaafari, the president of the Islamic Dawa Party, is also Western-oriented but is considered by many to be a cleric in a business suit.

Chalabi is a former exile leader who heavily promoted the idea that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction but later fell out with some key members of the Bush administration over allegations that he passed secrets to Iran.

Chalabi's candidacy could create problems for the alliance because of his vow to rid the government and administration of former members of Saddam's Baath party. Most Baathists are Sunni Arabs, who largely stayed away from the polls either as a boycott or out of fears of being attacked by militants.

Shiite politicians such as al-Jaafari have been quick to reassure Sunnis, who make up about 20 percent of the population but were favored under Saddam, that they will have a role in forming a government and drafting the country's first democratic constitution.

"Our Sunni brothers should be able to take part in the political process. We always assure that Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds will all be treated as Iraqi nationals first and foremost, and then we will respect their ethnic or religious identity," al-Jaafari said after meeting with Allawi. "We stressed the need (for) our Sunni brothers to participate not only in parliament but also in the system."

Allawi told The Associated Press last week that the alliance must change its platform of purging former Baathists from government positions if it wants national unity and an end to the insurgency's deadly campaign to destabilize the country with bombs, shooting attacks and kidnappings of Iraqis and foreigners.

A two-thirds majority — 182 seats — is needed to confirm the next president, two vice presidents, the prime minister and his Cabinet. The presidential posts are largely ceremonial and the true power lies with the prime minister.

Alliance representatives had gathered Monday to decide which two candidates would face a secret ballot among its 140 members elected to the assembly Jan. 30. The main contenders and power-brokers later had dinner in a heavily fortified building that serves as the headquarters for SCIRI leader Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim.

According to insiders, mostly in the Chalabi camp, he has the support of about 80 members — a group said to represent independents, Kurds, women and those close to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marines targeted insurgents in raids on houses on the second day of an offensive in several troubled cities west of Baghdad.

In Ramadi, Marines set up checkpoints, searched cars, imposed a nighttime curfew and sealed off sections of the city. Iraqi Maj. Abdul Karim al-Faraji said troops detained a prominent Sunni sheik, Mohammed Nasir Ali al-Ijbie, who heads the al-Bufaraj tribe, along with 12 of his relatives. The Marines said they detained 42 insurgents and seized several weapons caches.

Militants also released two Indonesian journalists captured last week in Ramadi. Reporter Meutya Viada Hafid, 26, and 36-year-old cameraman Budiyanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, arrived in Jordan late Monday.

In Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard announced Australia will send 450 more troops to southern Iraq to help protect Japanese engineers and help bolster the country's fledgling democracy. The new detachment will include a cavalry squadron, infantry company and a team to train local forces, he told a news conference.

Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, sent 2,000 troops to take part in the invasion of Iraq and still has nearly 900 troops in and around the country. Howard said it would take about 10 weeks for the new troops to prepare for the trip to Iraq and that they would likely stay there for a year.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Strong earthquake in Iran kills at least 400

 

   
 

N. Korea renews hope for six-party talks

 

   
 

Chirac, Bush discuss China arms embargo

 

   
 

Income gap grows wider in Beijing

 

   
 

Ministers stress Sino-UK co-operation

 

   
 

Economy cooling, price figures indicate

 

   
  Strong earthquake in Iran kills at least 400
   
  N. Korea renews hope for six-party talks
   
  Bush appeals to European allies for help
   
  Palestinians in crisis over new cabinet
   
  Chirac, Bush discuss China arms embargo
   
  Almost 150 feared dead in Indonesian landslide
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 色综合久久天天综合观看| 亚洲国产欧洲综合997久久| 91九色视频无限观看免费| 在线|一区二区三区| 亚洲一区二区三区久久| 久久精品国产欧美日韩| a级毛片高清免费视频就| 欧美成人免费一级人片| 免费看少妇作爱视频| 亚洲最大看欧美片网站| 在线人成精品免费视频| 一个人看的免费观看日本视频www 一个人看的免费视频www在线高清动漫 | 国产伦理一区二区| re99热久久这里只有精品| 欧美亚洲天堂网| 四虎影在永久地址在线观看 | 成人中文字幕一区二区三区| 久久久久无码精品国产app| 波多野结衣种子网盘| 国产免费一区二区三区免费视频| 最近免费中文在线视频| 思思久而久焦人| 亚洲av高清一区二区三区| 精品国产一区二区三区AV性色| 国产精品嫩草影院av| 中文国产成人精品久久app| 欧美日韩国产一区二区| 四虎影视永久免费观看| 野狼第一精品社区| 国产婷婷成人久久av免费高清 | 亚洲一区二区三区在线观看网站| 欧美极度另类videos| 亚洲熟妇av一区| 老汉扛起娇妻玉腿进入h文| 国产精品嫩草影院在线| 99在线观看精品免费99| 无码专区永久免费AV网站| 亚洲成人www| 美国式禁忌在线播放| 国产男女猛烈无遮挡免费视频| 一本岛一区在线观看不卡|