Jaafari wants parliament to decide his exit: Vice President

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2006

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi called for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari to step aside, but said that the incumbent Shiite premier wanted his exit to be decided by the parliament.

"Even in the UIA there is some rejection, I think that he should step aside," Mahdi, who himself was a candidate for the top job, told BBC's Hard Talk program Tuesday, using the acronym for the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA).

"One of the conditions (of his job) was the acceptance of others also," he added.

Sunnis, Kurds and secular politicians have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with Jaafari, while more and more members of his alliance are calling for him to step down as well.

But so far Jaafari has refused to give up his candidacy....