Maliki’s State of Law Coalition wants majority government
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition is blaming current problems on the "partnership" government, worked out in a power-sharing arrangement in 2010.
The State of Law Coalition, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is mobilizing behind the goal of forming a "governing majority" as an alternative to the current "partnership" government, which is the clear product of a power-sharing arrangement.
Indeed, Maliki has begun describing his government, first formed in 2010, as a power-sharing government, blaming it for the political, security and economic failures afflicting Iraq.
Kamal Saadi, a leader in the State of Law Coalition, has stoked fears over the future with his remarks on April 21 that his party's failure to move toward a governing majority in the coming stage would spell political suicide.
Even though the formation of the next government, according to Article 76 of the Iraqi Constitution, simply requires an absolute majority of parliamentary representatives (165 votes out of 328), an effort by the State of Law Coalition to unilaterally form a majority government would be fraught with complexity. To be elected, the president must secure the votes of two-thirds of the parliament (217 votes), according to Article 70 of the constitution, while the speaker of parliament and his two deputies would require an absolute majority (163 votes), according to Article 55 of the constitution.
