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Allawi refusing to join Shiite-led governing coalition
Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has refused an offer to join a coalition government led by the election-winning Shiite bloc, said senior leaders in the alliance.
"He showed no interest in joining the government and turned down our offer," said Hussein Shahristani of the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA).
Another figure in the UIA, which swept 140 of the 275 national assembly seats in January's election, said Allawi was offered a role in proportion to the 40 seats garnered by his list.
"He told us 'I will not take part but I will help you in crossing to the opposite river bank'," added Maliky referring to the country's upcoming transitional phase in which the newly-elected parliament would draft a constitution that would be put to a referendum in October.
Neither Allawi nor officials from his Iraqi List and National Accord party were immediately available for comment.
Iraq's national assembly will meet on March 16 as the UIA said it was putting the final touches on a deal to form a coalition government with the Kurdish bloc, which came in second in with 77 seats.
Allawi announced a few days ago that he was still in the running to keep his job as he held negotiations with various political groupings.
He is a secular Shiite whose views on the role of Islam in politics and the need to reach out to former regime elements who committed no crimes clash with the hardline stance of many in the UIA. |
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