“Neither has the prime minister presented his resignation as rumored nor does he plan to do so as rumored. These are speculations to stir things, for fun, to fill idleness, [or for] political analysis,” Abdul-Mahdi told reporters during his weekly press conference in Baghdad.
Changing the prime minister is solely within the constitutional authority of parliament, the PM said. “There is no fight in the parliament towards this direction,” he added.
Abdul-Mahdi was addressing a statement issued by Amjad Hashim al-Iqabi, an MP from the Sayirun Alliance, the biggest bloc in the Iraqi parliament, who claimed his colleagues will soon remove the PM from office.
As an independent technocrat, Abdul-Mahdi does not have a party or bloc in parliament.
Rudaw English approached Iqabi on Tuesday to ask whether his statement reflects the official position of Sayirun’s leader, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Iqabi did not respond.
Months after establishing a government, Abdul-Mahdi is yet to appoint ministers to head up the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Justice – all hotly contested by rival parties and sects.
The Ministry of Interior has customarily been given to a Shiite candidate, while the Ministry of Defense usually goes to a Sunni. Disputes among Iraq’s Shiite majority and Sunni minority have prevented the posts from being filled.
Sadr, who emerged as a kingmaker in Iraqi politics following Sayirun’s electoral success in May 2018, has demanded these security positions be filled with non-partisan technocrats.
Fatih, a political umbrella group which represents pro-Iran Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias, has long coveted the posts.
The Sunnis are divided between the Sayirun and Fatih blocs, unable to agree on a candidate.
The Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, has been left empty due to a dispute between the two biggest Kurdish parties – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
“I have said it more than once. There have been frameworks put in place with the political parties in that they present nominees to the prime minister, and the prime minister would choose whomever he deemed suitable among them and send them to the parliament,” Abdul Mahdi told reporters.
Parliament is due to go into recess until the autumn, the PM pointed out. “That is why we have to undertake urgent measures to settle this matter quickly.”
Abdul-Mahdi defended his short record in office.
“We are moving ahead [with implementing] the ministerial program. We are also very close to meeting our deadlines in all the topics put forth in the ministerial program,” he said, insisting his government has worked hard to address winter flooding and increase the supply of electricity.
Time is running out for the PM, however, as Sadr and other Shiite groups have issued a deadline to resolve the major issues facing Iraq.
The PM will face a real challenge this summer as high temperatures test the nation’s ramshackle electricity and sanitation networks.
Protests raged across Iraq’s southern province last summer over high unemployment, electricity shortages, and dirty drinking water.
Iraq’s unusually wet winter has bought the government extra time to address the issue of water shortages.
A new deal signed with SIEMENS to help fix Iraq’s ailing electricity sector could also reflect well on the PM.
