Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki declared that he would file a libel suit at the federal court against President Fuad Masum for failing to designate him for forming a new government, as leader of the largest parliamentary bloc.
In a televised statement, aired late on Sunday, Al-Maliki charged that the president had breached the Iraqi Constitution twice, namely when he delayed date for the largest parliamentary coalition to declare a presidential nominee.
Al-Maliki said he would file an official complaint with the court for the president's his explicit violation of the constitution, his sole consideration to certain political calculations and his intention to serve factional interests. He urged the parliament "to fulfil its duties" vis a vis such constitutional breaches.
He also warned that the president's stance might lead to dire consequences and jeopardize Iraq's unity and "put the political process in a dark tunnel." President Masum, according to the constitution, should have named a new premier by Sunday midnight. He was elected as president on July 14.
Al-Maliki in his televised remarks also urged the armed forces, the volunteers and the tribes to firmly resist forces of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) "and their political allies," expressing confidence that "the terrorists would be defeated and the battle would be won." The ISIl fighters have taken over several Iraqi towns and cities in the west and north of the country and have threatened to advance to the Iraqi capital and Kurdish-held territories, threatening to cause an all-out civil warfare in the troubled nation.
A number of Iraqi leaders have blamed Al-Maliki for the deepening crisis in the country, urging him to step down and pave way for formation of an inclusive government, with fair representation all Iraqi communities and parties.