Iraq Parliament Votes to Keep Maliki From Seeking New Term
Source: NYT
In the bloody aftermath of street protests that turned violent on Friday in Falluja, Iraqs Parliament passed a law on Saturday intended to prevent Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki from seeking a third term.
The parliamentary move was the latest threat to Mr. Malikis hold on power and reflected rising anger among rivals over his leadership, but it appeared unlikely that the law, which would need to approved by Iraqs president, would ever go into effect.
Mr. Malikis coalition in Parliament boycotted the vote, and an official close to the prime minister called it unconstitutional and vowed to appeal to the federal courts, which on paper are independent but in practice bend to Mr. Malikis will.
Sami al-Askari, a lawmaker from Mr. Malikis coalition, said the law would not see the light of day because, he said, it is unconstitutional. We are not worried about the vote on this law, Mr. Askari said.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/world/middleeast/iraq-parliament-votes-to-keep-maliki-from-seeking-new-term.html