Maliki goes on offense as elections approach
With Iraq’s parliamentary elections only days away, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused his adversaries of failing to take responsibility for their role in the current crises.
In an interview with the Lebanese Al-Manar TV channel on April 20, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki challenged his adversaries, who have been accusing him of becoming a dictator and monopolizing authority, to prove that he has violated the constitution, if even once. Maliki said that he has never overstepped the constitution or law in any of his policies or powers, and that his adversaries want to blame him for the failure of the partnership government, which they themselves are part of. Maliki reiterated his promise that the next stage will not witness a return to a partnership government including all parties. The only solution is a majority government whose ministers are appointed by Maliki, and which he leads.
The Maliki-led State of Law Coalition includes 12 parties and groups, including the Islamic Dawa Party, led by Maliki himself, the Badr Organization, the Independent Bloc, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, in addition to other smaller parties.
The coalition is participating in the elections in all cities with a Shiite majority and focusing its electoral campaign on the Shiite audience. Maliki started his electoral rounds with a visit to Basra in southern Iraq on April 11, and he later visited all Shiite cities.
During these rounds, Maliki sought to promote his coalition by sponsoring or launching new service projects such as the inauguration of a big hospital in Najaf. He also inspected the site of the Besmaya Housing Project in Baghdad, which is one of the largest housing projects in the capital and aims at building more than 100,000 housing units.
