- An official political source in Iraqiya List has revealed details of the beginning of a political mediation led by the political parties inside and outside the list to cancel the decision of PM Nouri al-Maliki last December to sack Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq.
The source, who asked not to be named and belongs to the mediating parties, told AKnews: "We started a political movement in order to end the political dispute between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his deputy Saleh al-Mutlaq. The issue will be resolved soon."

Maliki said on Sunday that Mutlaq's issue is political and cannot be resolved except through political meetings, emphasizing that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's issue cannot be included within the political discussions since it is a judicial issue.

Maliki decided to freeze the work of the office of his deputy Saleh al-Mutlaq after the latter described the PM as "dictator". Maliki considered this as an insult against him and the Iraqi state.

The word "dictator" was used later more than once against Maliki by prominent leaders, including the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of Iraqiya Ayad Allawi and the Kurdistan Region's President Massoud Barzani.

Article 78 of the Iraqi constitution states: "The Prime Minister is the direct executive official responsible for the general policy of the state, and is the commander of the armed forces, manages the Council of Ministers, presides its meetings and has the right to dismiss ministers with the consent of the Council of Representatives."

Mutlaq heads the National Dialogue Front and he was included within the de-Baathification procedures. The Justice and Accountability Committee (JAC) excluded him from the political process but a political agreement allowed dropping the proceedings against him after signing a renunciation from the disbanded Baath Party.


AKnews