NCRI – The idea of opposing a prominent role for the al-Iraqiya political bloc in running the affairs of Iraq is promoted by the Iranian regime, the leader of al-Iraqiya said in an interview on Monday.
Speaking with al-Arabiya TV, Dr. Ayad Allawi said, “This is a position tied to the Iranian regime and it has led some Iraqi forces influenced by the regime to fall out of line with other movements when it comes to the role of the National Strategic Policies Council.”
“For example, we and the Kurdish faction, specifically Mr. Masoud Barzani, are adamant about this council having an executive role. The Sadr movement is also on the same page. But, some parties like Nouri al-Maliki block are rejecting the idea, wanting the council instead to be an advisory body.”
Allawi added, “Recently, it has been agreed that the council should have executive powers and that its decisions, adopted by a majority vote, should be binding.”
In another interview with al-Baghdadiya TV, Allawi said, “The National Strategic Policies Council is an important part of the process of participation in political decision making. Agreements were made about its powers before the start of parliament.”
“An agreement was actually reached on three issues which were supposed to be put to vote before the appointment of the president. These three issues consisted of the formation of the National Strategic Policies Council, the process of national reconciliation, and the annulment of a decision to ban four senior al-Iraqiya members. We signed on all three.”
“We are still of the opinion that what has happened is a violation of the Iraqi people’s rights and bypassing the election results. In our view, the larger faction is the one that won the elections,” Allawi added.
“Those who went to Tehran were told that [the Iranian regime] will not allow anyone to become prime minister who is outside Maliki’s State of Law coalition. We are saying that this is clearly in violation of the Iraqi people’s rights.”
