Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday called on President Jalal Talabani to verify the signatures collected for withdrawing confidence from the government by presenting them to criminal investigation officials.
This is the first clear reaction by Maliki in response to the efforts that seek to withdraw confidence from him.

Maliki said in a statement posted on his website: "Some parties are trying to exploit the democratic life that we seek to keep in order to achieve political goals, and this raised fears about endangering the democratic process.

"Organizing lists by some MPs and collecting their signatures outside the Council of Representatives included many unconstitutional and illegal practices, whether by threats, fraud or extortion, or other practices that some citizens were informed about through the media or through receiving complaints from many MPs in this area who asked for strengthening their protection.

"I call for paying attention to such practices because they endanger the democratic process, calling on President Jalal Talabani to compare the compatibility of these practices with the constitutional and legal standards and present the signatures to the criminal investigations to verify their validity.

"The relevant agencies must account those who are accused of fraud or threat against any MP or accused of any illegal practice and they should be brought to justice to hold accountable in order to preserve the integrity of democratic life and its well-known traditions."

This position comes after Iraqiya List revealed earlier today about delivering the signatures of MPs who demand the withdrawal of confidence from the government. The Kurdish Blocs Coalition (KBC) and the Sadrists also announced about collecting signatures to withdraw confidence from the PM.

The collection of signatures by the KBC, Iraqiya List and the Sadrist Movement came within the ninth item of the second Erbil paper, which referred to the withdrawal of confidence from the government if no reforms were implemented.

Maliki's opponents say that they cannot deal with him politically during the coming period while Maliki's coalition confirms that the political problems in the country are the responsibility of both the government and the legislative institution.




AKnews