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Iraqi President refuses to designate new PM rejected by protesters, willing to resign

26 December 2019 16:47 (UTC +04:00)

Iraqi President Barham Salih has submitted a request to resign to parliament, APA reports citing Sputnik

The president refused to designate the Iran-backed bloc's nominee for prime minister, saying that he is willing to resign rather than appoint a prime minister that was rejected by protesters, reports say.

Salih said in a statement that because the constitution does not give him the right to reject nominees for the premiership, he is ready to submit his resignation to parliament.

Last week, a source said that the Iraqi parliament delayed the vote on a draft electoral law until 23 December, due to tensions between lawmakers over several articles. Later, it was also set to nominate a new prime minister to replace Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in late October amid ongoing protests.