Iraqi PM rejects call to step aside

Al-Jaafari told The Guardian newspaper that he was rejecting calls to give up the nomination of his Shia bloc "to protect democracy in Iraq."

"There is a decision that was reached by a democratic mechanism and I stand with it," he told the newspaper. "We have to respect our Iraqi people."

Al-Jaafari's comments were his first public response to pressure that escalated after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew to Baghdad on Sunday to demand the Iraqis speed up talks on a new government.

Sunni and Kurdish politicians, whom the Shias need as coalition partners, have called for al-Jaafari's replacement, arguing that his government failed to restore order and prevent an escalation in tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims in recent weeks that threatens civil war.

"People will react if they see the rules of democracy being disobeyed," al-Jaafari told the newspaper. "Everyone should stick to democratic mechanisms no matter whether they disagree with the person."

Nevertheless, pressure is mounting on al-Jaafari to step aside, even from within his Shia political alliance.

During an interview Tuesday with the British Broadcasting Corp., Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi said he met with al-Jaafari the day before and urged him to give up the nomination because he had lost the confidence of the Sunnis and Kurds.

But Abdul-Mahdi said al-Jaafari refused, insisting he wanted to take his case to parliament, which must approve the new prime minister and his Cabinet by a majority vote.

Asked whether al-Jaafari should withdraw his nomination, Abdul-Mahdi said: "Yes, after such a time of naming him, not getting approval from others now in UIA (the dominant Shia political bloc), there is some rejection so I think he should step aside."

Al-Jaafari beat Abdul-Mahdi for the nomination in February by a single vote at a caucus of the Shia bloc, which won the most seats in parliamentary elections last December. Al-Jaafari squeaked through largely because he had the support of the powerful anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.