Asharq Al-Awsat: Dr. Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqiya Coalition and the first Prime Minister of the new Iraqi governmental era, after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, confirmed that it would be impossible to replace that dictatorial regime with another one. He added that his rival, outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, was wrong in his insistence to stay in power.
Asharq Al-Awsat
By Ma’ad Fayad
London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dr. Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqiya Coalition and the first Prime Minister of the new Iraqi governmental era, after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, confirmed that it would be impossible to replace that dictatorial regime with another one. He added that his rival, outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, was wrong in his insistence to stay in power.
Allawi, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat in London, said that any move to deprive the winning bloc, succeeding in the parliamentary elections held last March, of their right to form the next government, would be “circumventing the will of the Iraqi people and the democratic process, and [the instigators] would be imposing their will upon the constitution by force [rather than democracy]”.
He added: “In the event of such an occurrence, the leaders of ‘Iraqiya’ will meet and decide their necessary position”.
Allawi said: “because of the circumstances, regional pressures, and because of the intentions of some political forces, who want the policy of sectarian political allocation to be a reality in Iraq, by transforming it from a theoretical issue into practice. These forces have fought ‘Iraqiya’ and attempted to confiscate its rights, in order to implement such a proposal”.
Allawi went on to say “Maliki must understand … no one stays in power forever”. He added “I think that matters will be highly tempestuous within the country, and I expect, god forbid, a reaction against democratic principles and policies. I don’t think that the Iraqi people will believe in going to the polls in the future, and this will lead to further divisions on the Iraqi streets”.
