CRI听力:Maliki Rejects New PM Nomination

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his bloc has filed a lawsuit, rejecting the nomination of a new prime minister.
 
The move comes after Iraq's president named parliament's deputy speaker, Haider al-Abadi, as the new prime minister-designate to succeed Maliki.

Maliki is describing the move as a "coup."

"We will not accept this violation of the constitution since we are among those who formed the constitution and this democratic process, so be sure that we will continue in our candidacy."

A federal court in Iraq has already ruled Maliki's political bloc is the largest in the Iraqi parliament.

It means the bloc is entitled to nominate a candidate for the premiership.

The opposition has accused Maliki's Shi'ite-dominated government of marginalizing the Sunni minority.

Meanwhile, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union are all welcoming the new nomination.

The mounting political showdown comes as the United States beefs up its role in fighting back the so-called Islamic State, which controls large swaths of northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

U.S. military has carried out over a dozen airstrikes on IS targets since Barack Obama authorized the move last week.

The US has also begun directly providing weapons to the Kurds defending against IS fighters in the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq.

But the Obama administration is adamant Iraqi forces must lead the fight against the Sunni insurgents.

For more on the situation in Iraq, CRI's Xu Qinduo earlier spoke with Ricardo Laremont, professor of political science SUNY Binghamton University in New York.