Iraqi protesters reject pro-Iran PM pick

Pro-Iranian factions in Iraq's government are now lobbying for Assad al-Aidani to take over the post of prime minister, although he is another unpopular choice with demonstrators.

NASIRIYAH - Iraqi President Barham Salih refused on Thursday to designate the nominee of an Iran-backed parliamentary bloc for prime minister, saying he would rather resign than appoint someone to the position who would be rejected by protesters.

The Bina bloc, led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, had nominated Basra Governor Assad al-Aidani to be the next prime minister.

But Salih said in a statement that appointing al-Aidani would not placate protesters demanding an independent prime minister with no party affiliation or help calm the unrest that has rocked the country.

He said that because the constitution does not give him the right to reject nominees for the premiership, he was ready to quit.

"Out of my desire to stop blood and maintain peace, and with due respect to Assad al-Aidani, I refuse to nominate him," Salih said. "Therefore I put my willingness to resign the post of president to members of parliament so that they decide as representatives of the people what they see fit."

Mass protests have gripped Iraq since Oct. 1 and the protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty. More than 450 people have been killed.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned last month as the protests continued, but he has remained in office in a caretaker capacity.

Meanwhile protesters blocked roads and bridges in Baghdad and the country's south after torching several buildings overnight.

The demonstrators oppose the entire political class and have vented their anger against the negotiations to nominate an establishment insider as the next prime minister.

"The government is hostage to corrupt parties and sectarian divisions", said one activist, Sattar Jabbar, 25, in the southern city of Nasiriyah.

Smoke and flames from burning tyres in Nasiriyah, Basra and Diwaniyah blocked major roads and bridges across the Euphrates all night before some of these roadblocks were lifted in the morning.

In Nasiriyah, demonstrators set the provincial government building ablaze overnight for a second time since the protests began, and protesters also torched the new headquarters of a pro-Iran militia in Diwaniyah.

After dwindling, the street campaign has gained new vigour in recent days to rally against widespread corruption and a political system seen as beholden to neighbouring Iran.

Government offices and schools remain closed across almost all of Iraq's south.

Pro-Iranian factions had for several weeks touted outgoing higher education minister Qusay al-Suhail for the post of prime minister, but his nomination was also opposed by Salih.

Those same factions are now lobbying for al-Aidani, but protesters are making it clear that he is another unpopular choice.

"We don't want Assad the Iranian!" shouted protesters in Kut, a southern city.

The protesters want a technocratic premier who has had no involvement in the political system set up after the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Around 460 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded in nearly three months of clashes between protesters and security forces.