Allawi forms coalition to try hold PM post
Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is forming a broad coalition to fight to keep his job after the dominant Shiite political party nominated a conservative for the post.
He would not provide details of the proposed coalition today, but promised it would seek to establish a government “which believes in Iraq and its principles”.
“There are other lists and other brothers in smaller lists which won the elections, and we are working with some of those lists to form a national Iraqi democratic coalition which believes in Iraq and its principles,” he said in Baghdad.
Flanked by two interim ministers who are members of his secular party, The Iraqi List, Allawi said “we will announce later on more details”.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, skirted criticism of Ibrahim al-Jaafari, nominated yesterday by Iraq’s dominant Shiite political party – the United Iraqi Alliance - as its candidate for prime minister. The decision made al-Jaafari the overwhelming favourite for the post.
He said he considered al-Jaafari an “honourable man”, but when asked if he feared that the alliance could impose Islamic rule in Iraq, Allawi said without elaboration that he opposed the creation of any form of Islamic government.
