Iraq's Maliki finally leaves premiership paving way for Haider al-Abadi

Maliki ended eight years of often divisive, sectarian rule and endorsed fellow Shi’ite Haider al-Abadi in a televised speech during which he stood next to his successor and spoke of the grave threat from Sunni Islamic State militants who have taken over large areas of northern Iraq.

“I announce before you today, to ease the movement of the political process and the formation of the new government, the withdrawal of my candidacy in favor of brother Dr. Haider al-Abadi,” Maliki said.

Maliki’s decision was likely to please Iraq’s Sunni minority, which dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s iron rule but was sidelined by Maliki, a relative unknown when he came to power in 2006 with U.S. backing.

Maliki had resisted months of pressure to step down from Sunnis, Kurds, some fellow Shi’ites, Shi’ite regional power Iran and the United States. He had insisted on his right to form a new government based on the results of a parliamentary election in late April.

His stubborn insistence stirred concerns of a violent power struggle in Baghdad. But in recent days, as his support was obviously crumbling, he told his military commanders to stay out of politics.

“From the beginning I ruled out the option of using force, because I do not believe in this choice, which would without a doubt return Iraq to the ages of dictatorship, oppression and tyranny, except to confront terrorism and terrorists and those violating the will and interests of the people,” Maliki said.

On Wednesday, his own Dawa political party publicly threw its support behind Abadi and asked lawmakers to work with him to form a new government. And Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offered his personal endorsement to Abadi, distancing himself from Maliki.

U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice commended Maliki for his decision to support Abadi, and she noted a wide range of leaders from across the Iraqi political spectrum had committed to help Abadi form a broad, inclusive government.

“These are encouraging developments that we hope can set Iraq on a new path and unite its people against the threat presented by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” Rice said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described Maliki’s decision as “important and honorable” and said “the United States stands ready to partner with a new and inclusive government to counter this threat” from the Islamic State.

A U.S. official said that once administration officials concluded Maliki had to go, Washington pushed Iraqi politicians to take steps such as ratifying the election results and designating a prime minister but added it had not advocated specific candidates. “It was all teeth-grinding activity,” said the official on condition of anonymity. “While we were pushing the process, they were determining who was going to be in the driver’s seat.”

“In the end, it was the weight of the system and the weight of the history that came down, and Maliki just lost all of his support,” he added. The official also said a clear shift last week against Maliki by Iraq’s most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, “was a big, big part of everybody accepting that there was no way forward with Maliki.”

Abadi is seen as a moderate Shi’ite with a decent chance of improving ties with Sunnis. But he is faced with halting the advance of the Islamic State, which has overrun large areas of Iraq- Reuters