Baghdad - Iraq's president named
intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi as prime
minister-designate on Thursday, the third person tapped to lead
the country in just 10 weeks as it struggles to replace a
government that fell last year after months of deadly protests.
Kadhimi was nominated by President Barham Salih, state
television reported, shortly after the previous designated prime
minister, Adnan al-Zurfi, announced he was withdrawing having
failed to secure enough support to pass a government.
Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned under pressure from
anti-government protests in November, still heads the government
as caretaker prime minister. Salih's first choice to replace
him, Mohammed Allawi, withdrew on March 1 after four fruitless
weeks trying to gain support.
Iraq, exhausted by decades of sanctions, war and political
corruption, now faces economic ruin, social unrest and a growing
outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Like Salih's previous choices to replace Abdul Mahdi,
Kadhimi is seen as a political independent, who will have to
amass support from the powerful sectarian parties that dominate
Iraq's legislature to approve a cabinet within a month. He has
held his role heading intelligence since 2016.
Zurfi said in a statement he was pulling out, citing
"internal and external reasons" for his decision, without
elaborating.
"My decision not to proceed with my nomination is to
preserve Iraq and its greatest interests," he said.