Maliki says he rejected military force to hold power, will not return to government

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The outgoing Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, said on Thursday evening that he did not want any governmental position, stressing that he excluded the option of holding onto power through military force so as to avoid any return to dictatorship.

Maliki said, in a televised speech in the presence of the designated Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, and the members of the State of Law Coalition, that “I do not want any position in government. My position is your trust,” adding “I announce in front of you the withdrawal of my candidacy in favor of my brother, Haider al-Abadi, to facilitate the functioning of the political process.”

Maliki called on politicians to “use constitutional mechanisms to express their opinions,” noting that “he has ruled out the option of force from the beginning because he doesn’t believe in this option, which is no doubt will lead Iraq back to the reigns of dictatorship.”

Maliki declared his support for designated Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, and the withdrawal of the lawsuit he had brought against the President Fuad Masum through the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court.