Iraqi PM Abdul Mahdi says he will resign after top Shiite Muslim cleric’s call for change
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Friday he would tender his resignation to parliament so lawmakers could choose a new government, Reuters reported, citing his office.
Abdul Mahdi’s decision came in response to a call for a change of leadership on Friday by Iraq’s top Shia Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the statement said.
On October 31, Iraqi President Barham Salih said that PM Abdul Mahdi would only resign in response to mass protests if parliamentary blocs were to agree on his replacement to avoid a constitutional vacuum. The prime minister “had previously agreed to submit his resignation,” Salih said.
Iraq’s protests are the most complex challenge to a Shiite Muslim-dominated ruling class that has controlled state institutions and patronage networks since a US-led invasion in 2003.
Iraqi PM Abdul Mahdi says he will resign after top Shiite Muslim cleric’s call for change
Source: RT