The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) which belongs to the National Alliance (NA) stated today that Iraq's political crisis may be resolved during today's meeting through dialogue and consensus.

The ISCI also ruled out the withdrawal of confidence from PM Nouri al-Maliki because the consequences of such a move are unknown.

The NA is scheduled to meet this evening to agree on a unified position about the request to nominate a candidate to replace Maliki.

The request, signed by four political leaders in a meeting in Najaf, gave the NA one week to nominate a replacement for Maliki. The four leaders who signed the request were leader of the Sadrist Movement Muqtada al-Sadr, Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani, Iraqiya List leader Ayad Allawi and speaker of the Iraqi parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.

ISCI leader Furat al-Sharei said: "The political process is passing through a risky turning point and the meeting of the alliance will focus today on the issues of consensus, dialogue and concessions to develop solutions for the political crisis."

Two days ago the State of Law Coalition (SLC) renewed its support for Maliki and its commitment to President Jalal Talabani's request to hold a national conference.

Talabani has stressed the importance of holding the national conference in a bid to resolve the political crisis, but other parties such as Iraqiya List have rejected such calls.

The criticism against Maliki by prominent leaders increased during the past few weeks. The leaders believe Maliki wants to control the state and avoid the implementation of agreements that allowed the formation of the current government.




AKnews