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Iraq's Interim PM Mehdi Says He's Stepping Aside

Edward Yeranian

   CAIRO - Months of political crisis in Iraq appeared to take a new leap
   into the unknown Tuesday, after caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul
   Mehdi's interim mandate expired, in accordance with the country's 2005
   post-Saddam Hussein constitution. Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, who had been
   chosen to succeed Abdul Mehdi, withdrew Sunday, saying he was unable to
   form a new government, triggering a political void.

   Iraqi state TV displayed a statement by Abdul Mehdi saying he was
   "stepping aside," leaving either a deputy prime minister or a member of
   his caretaker government to preside over weekly Cabinet meetings. A
   photo on Twitter showed Iraq's oil minister, Thamir Ghadhban, presiding
   over Tuesday's session.

   Iraq's Kurdish president, Barham Salih, who has 15 days to appoint a
   new prime minister according to the constitution, is supposed to fill
   the position himself during the interim (as per Article 81 of the
   constitution). Several Shi'ite political parties, however, have
   expressed opposition to that formula. The Iraqi Hezbollah group's
   spokesman, Abou Ali Askeri, warned against "naming any prime minister
   that is an ally of the U.S.," saying it would "put Hezbollah in an open
   conflict with him."
   

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