![](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/07\/dhafer-al-An.jpg\" "\\"dhafer-al-An\\"")
Most of Iraq\u2019s Sunnis and Kurds demand Nouri al-Maliki leave office but he shows no sign of quitting as UN envoy warns that the country will descend into \u201cchaos\u201d unless Iraqi politicians move forward on forming a government, according to the Reuters.<\/p>\n
Prominent Sunni Arab lawmaker Dhafer al-Ani said this week that “partition of Iraq will be the natural result” if the Shiite bloc could not put forward another candidate other than Maliki.<\/p>\n
“If they insist on Maliki as the prime minister, then we will withdraw from the government,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I believe that it would be hard for any Sunni politician to raise his hand and vote for Maliki as prime minister for a third term.<\/p>\n
The national parliament elected in April met for the first time on July 1 but failed to agree on nominations for the top three government posts.
The next session will be held on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The UN special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Saturday the country could plunge into chaos if parliament fails to move forward on a government in Sunday session.<\/p>\n
Lack of progress on choosing the top three government posts – president, prime minister, and speaker – “will only serve the interests of those who seek to divide the people of Iraq and destroy their chances for peace and prosperity,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He also urged lawmakers to turn up, after fewer than a third attended the first session when Sunnis and Kurds walked out after Shiites failed to nominate a premier to replace Maliki.<\/p>\n
“The head of the Kurdish Gorran bloc, Aram Sheikh Mohammed, has said Kurdish factions would attend Sunday\u2019s session, but the prospects of progress were poor.”If Maliki nominates himself, I think neither the Sunnis nor Kurds will nominate their candidates (for speaker and president),” he said.<\/p>\n
Under a system created after the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the prime minister has always been a member of the Shiite majority, the speaker of parliament a Sunni and, with one exception, the occupant of the largely ceremonial presidency has been a Kurd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most of Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds demand Nouri al-Maliki leave office but he shows no sign of quitting as UN envoy warns that the country will descend into “chaos” unless […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":41929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-16816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-a-world","8":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n