Iraq President: prepared to resign over PM nominee

Iraq's President refused Thursday to designate the Iran-backed parliamentary bloc's nominee for prime minister after he was rejected by anti-government protesters, saying he was prepared to submit his resignation to Parliament.

Barham Saleh said in a statement issued by his office that he would not name the governor of the southern Basra province, Asaad al-Eidani, as the country's next prime minister “to avoid more bloodshed and in order to safeguard civil peace.”

Al-Eidani's name was proposed Wednesday by the Fatah bloc, which includes leaders associated with the Iran-supported paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.

However, al-Eidani was  promptly rejected by Iraqi protesters, who poured into the streets to denounce his nomination over megaphones, calling for an independent candidate.

Saleh said his refusal to designate al-Eidani could be construed as a violation of the constitution and said he was therefore putting his resignation at the disposal of Parliament.

He stopped short of actually submitting his resignation, leaving it up to the lawmakers to decide “as they see fit”.

The move plunges the war-scarred country into further uncertainty and deepens a political impasse amid unprecedented mass protests that erupted on Oct. 1.

The leaderless protesters are calling for the overthrow of Iraq's entire political class over corruption and mismanagement.

The protests, concentrated in Baghdad and the mostly Shiite-inhabited south, have also turned into an uprising against Iran's political and military influence in the country.