Secretary-General of Asaib Ahl al-Haq Qais Khazali said on Friday, December 27, that Salih should either resign or be dismissed because he is constitutionally required to appoint the candidate designated by the largest parliamentary bloc.
On Thursday, Salih rejected al-Bina's candidate, Asaad al-Eidani, and threatened to resign if a candidate was not selected that could win approval of protesters. Some lawmakers slammed Salih for allowing a constitutionally-mandated deadline to pass without appointing a new prime ministerial candidate and working beyond his mandate.
Khazali said the president’s step was “illogical” and that rejecting candidates “is not a duty of the President of the Republic, but is rather the duty of opposition blocs [in the Council of Representatives].”
“The country will be lead to chaos if the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc is not appointed and it will threaten the security, safety, and unity of Iraq,” Khazali added.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq is a part of the Fatah Alliance, which is made up of the political wings of the Hashd al-Shaabi.
Iraq has been rocked by anti-government protests for nearly three months. Initially the demonstrators wanted the government to do more to fight corruption, increase job opportunities, and improve public services, but they are now adamant that the current government and parties should be swept aside and new elections held.
Nearly 500 people have been killed and more than 17,000 others have been wounded since the protests began on October 1, according to the High Commission for Human Rights.
Local and international rights watchdogs have condemned the killings.
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