Iraq: No movement on new prime minister

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s party will stick by him as the Shiite nominee for a second term and will put forward the name of a new candidate only if the premier decides to step aside, a top party official said today.

The comments by Ali al-Adeeb, himself mentioned a possible replacement, point to further delays in resolving the issue of al-Jaafari, which has blocked formation of a new government. The seven-party Shiite alliance has deferred to al-Jaafari’s Dawa party to decide whether to abandon him in face of opposition from Sunnis and Kurds.