Iraqi president under 'enormous pressure' to assign a new premier: President Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said Saturday that Iraqi President Barham Salih is under “enormous pressure” to designate a new prime minister for the country.

“In regards to the designation of Iraq’s future prime minister, enormous pressure has been mounted on President Barham Salih, contrary to the constitution and its proceedings. We reiterate that all solutions should be founded on the bases of the Iraqi charter and the legal means,” read a statement from Barzani.

Adil Abdul-Mahdi, incumbent prime minister, responded to the demands of the protesters to step down and submitted his resignation on November 30. Since then, there has been intense political sparring between politicians, parliamentary blocs and protesters over who shall succeed him. 

President Barzani, whose ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) enjoys strategic relations with Salih’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Kurdistan Region, said he is monitoring the developments in Baghdad “closely and with great concern.”

He added that all the parties in Iraq have to come to an agreement as per the constitution and “refuse to bow to political pressure.”

Salih, a Kurd and senior member of the PUK refused the nomination of Asaad al-Aidani - nominated by the pro-Iran Bina Coalition, which claims to be the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament - and offered to resign  rather than succumb to intense pressure from the coalition to name Aidani as the new prime minister. 

Salih's proposal drew mixed reactions from protesters on the streets, who accused him of both solidarity and treason. 

"Thank you Barham for siding with the demands of the people and rejecting the candidates of corrupt parties. We are with you," a banner in Tahrir Square read. 

Others hoped that his departure would lead to the ousting of the current parties. 

However, some were not as optimistic. 

"This resignation will lead to chaos and give the political partires even more control over the country", protester Ali Mohamed told AFP. 

"The president needs to stay to resist these parties," he added.

The Bina coalition, headed by Hadi al-Ameri and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki later released a statement saying that Salih's offer and refusal to appoint Aidani, incumbent governor of the oil-rich Basra province, to form a new cabinet is a "clear violation of the Iraqi constitution."

“The side that is supposed to follow the Iraqi constitution is violating it today, and that will shift the country into chaos, which will not  serve any side except the western side and agenda,” read the statement.

“We ask the Iraqi parliament to take legal actions against the Iraqi President for his violation of the Iraqi constitution,” it added. 

Foreign influence in Iraq has fueled the protests, which have adopted an strong anti-Iran stance.

Young Iraqis first took to the streets on October 1 demanding jobs, services, and an end to corruption. The protests paused during the Shiite ceremony of Arbaeen on October 9, but resumed on October 25 with radical demands for an overthrow of the post-2003 political order, including the resignation of the three presidencies: president, prime minister and parliament speaker. 

More than 460 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed and around 17,000 wounded since October 1.