BAGHDAD, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must realize that nobody can stay in power indefinitely, a political rival and former interim prime minister said.
Iraqi leaders have been unable to agree on candidates for prime minister, president and speaker of parliament since elections March 7. The Iraqiya slate of former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won a two-seat victory in the March contest but fell well short of the 163-seat majority needed to form a government alone.
A myriad of names have surfaced to challenge Maliki, who is trying to secure a second term as prime minister.
Allawi, who maintains his coalition has the legal right to form a government first, told London's pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that Maliki and his State of Law slate were undermining the will of the Iraqi people.
He told the newspaper that Maliki should understand that "no one stays in power forever" and the lingering stalemate was destroying the confidence of the Iraqi people.
UPI
