Iraqiya, a cross-sectarian
alliance led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, was the bloc that won the
most seats in the 325-seat Parliament, heavily backed by minority Sunnis.
But Iraqiya, which has 91
seats, two more than Al-Maliki's State of Law bloc, has been unable to win over
others to form a majority.
On Tuesday, the Shiite-led
National Alliance, a merger of Al-Maliki's coalition and the Iranian-backed
Iraqi National Alliance (INA), gave itself five days to pick a nominee for
prime minister in a move to end a six-month impasse since the vote.
Osama Al-Nujaifi, a senior
member of Iraqiya, said his bloc would not recognize the National Alliance or
any decisions it makes, but would be willing to start negotiations to form a
national coalition government, particularly with the INA.
"Iraqiya will not take
part in any government headed by Al-Maliki, this is definite," he told
Reuters. "Iraqiya is ready to open a serious dialogue with the winning
blocs and especially the Iraqi National Alliance, according to the earned
election and constitutional rights." Iraqiya later formally announced its
position on Al-Maliki in a statement read by party spokesman Haider Al-Mulla.
"Iraqiya considers the current model to run the state headed by Mr. Al-Maliki
is not suitable to be repeated," Mulla said.
The State of Law party, which
won 89 seats in the election, and the INA, which took 70, announced their
intention to merge in Parliament. The two blocs will be just four seats short
of a parliamentary majority.
But Al-Maliki's partners refused
to support his bid for a new term and nominated outgoing vice president Adel
Abdul-Mahdi as a rival candidate.
Some Iraqi politicians said Al-Maliki
was in a favorable position to win the National Alliance nomination, despite
doubts that he could persuade others outside the alliance to work with him.
"There have been some
suggestions before that Al-Maliki would form the government. Now, many
political parties reject Al-Maliki," said Mohammed Allawi, a senior member
of Iraqiya. "I think it is very difficult for Al-Maliki to become a prime minister
again. You can't form a government without Iraqiya."
