Maliki toppled through Parliament?

BAGHDAD, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A lawmaker with the Iraqi National List said there is a plot to depose the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki through the Parliament.

Iraqi lawmakers in a secret balloting Wednesday put Iyad al-Samarrai with the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, a member of the Iraqi Accordance Front bloc, in a runoff for the position of Parliament speaker. Iraq has been without a speaker since December when Mahmoud Mashhadani, also with IAF, stepped down, leaving Parliament effectively stalled.

Essat al-Shahbandar with the Iraqi National List of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the choice of Samarrai was a move by Maliki rivals to diminish his influence, London's Asharq al-Awsat reports.

"The Iraqi Islamic Party candidate, Iyad al-Samarrai, is part of a coalition between the Kurds and the (Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council) and other powers, who are openly seeking to limit Maliki's role, or even remove him from power through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in his government," he said.

A de facto power-sharing arrangement negotiated in 2006 is slowly unraveling, Shahbandar said, as new alliances develop among Maliki supporters and his rivals.

The lawmaker said Maliki will likely voice his opposition to the Samarrai candidacy. After a series of delays, Iraqi lawmakers are expected to vote on the position of speaker in their Thursday session.