New Iraqi election call overblown

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BAGHDAD, June 27 (UPI) -- A call Wednesday for new elections from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki isn't a new position for the Shiite leader, an analyst said.

Maliki earlier this year faced a no-confidence vote, which highlighted a fractured political system in Iraq that intensified after U.S. forces left the country in December.

In a statement translated by Iranian broadcaster Press TV, Maliki said he was compelled to call for early elections because his opponents insist "on the policy of provoking successive crises in a way that causes serious damage to the supreme interests of Iraqi people."

Maliki secured a second term as prime minister following divisive parliamentary elections in 2010.

Maliki's opponents say he's monopolizing power in Baghdad.

Kirk Sowell, publisher of the biweekly newsletter Inside Iraqi Politics, told United Press International that while Maliki's statement was notable for its directness, it wasn't a serious threat.

Some Sunni and even Kurdish opposition parties might view this as in their interest," he said. "But it is not at all clear Maliki has even close to 163 votes (from the 325-member Parliament) for new elections now."

Sowell said that Maliki's ambitions may be to quiet the calls for this removal.

"He can't really govern the way he wants to when he is constantly facing these threats," he said.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2014.