BAGHDAD - The former prime minister who led a political coalition heavily supported by Iraq's minority Sunnis has rejected a position in the nation's new government, a spokeswoman said Thursday, a move that could marginalize Sunnis at a time when anger about shoddy government services have prompted deadly protests.
The former prime minister told political allies late Wednesday that he would not head the council, said Allawi spokeswoman Intisar Allawi.
Allawi thought that "there is no point in chairing the council" because no headway had been made on negotiations over its power, said Maysoun al-Damlouji, a spokeswoman for Iraqiya, Allawi's political bloc.
Also on Thursday, the president of the Kurdish autonomous region that controls the three provinces in northern Iraq called for early elections, following widespread anti-government protests in the self-ruled region that have left eight people dead.
The manoeuvring comes amid continual sporadic violence in the country. Eight people were killed in western Iraq after a suicide bomber targeting Iraqi army soldiers set off an explosives vest in the city of Haditha, 140 miles (220 kilometres) northwest of Baghdad.
The bomber walked up to a crowd of soldiers collecting their paychecks at a bank, and set off his explosives while some soldiers were inside and other were waiting in line to enter, said Waid Khalif, the deputy commander of the city's police force.
By stepping aside, Allawi also distances himself from political responsibility as Iraq goes through deepening anti-government protests over haphazard services and corruption.
Demonstrators angry with the government's seeming inability to improve their lives are preparing to take to the streets again in Baghdad and other cities on Friday.
Allawi had long wavered on whether he would take the position as head of the National Council for Strategic Policies. Although Iraqiya narrowly won the most seats in last year's parliamentary election, Allawi was outmanoeuvred by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who kept his job after drawn-out negotiations.
As a compromise to keep Allawi and his Sunni supporters in the political process, the United States pushed for him to head a council that would serve as a check on al-Maliki's powers.
However, the sides couldn't agree on how much power the body would have.
Allawi and Iraqiya wanted the council's powers and his leadership of it to be voted on by parliament. They also wanted it to be fully funded and include the ability to overrule al-Maliki's decisions. Al-Maliki supporters wanted it to be limited to an advisory position.
If Allawi's decision holds, it would strengthen al-Maliki's grip on power. It would also risk alienating Sunni Arabs, whose marginalization after the fall of their patron Saddam Hussein has helped fuel an insurgency.
An adviser to al-Maliki said the council was designed to satisfy Allawi and that his decision would not have much impact on the Iraqi politics.
Meanwhile, in the northern Kurdish region, President Massoud Barzani asked the Kurdish parliament to study the possibility of early general elections. Barzani gave no date for the new elections.
The Kurds control three provinces in northern Iraq, and have their own president and parliament.
Thousands in one of the Kurdish provinces, Sulaimaniyah, have been rallying almost daily to demand political reforms. Demonstrations there and in other cities around Iraq have been inspired by similar protests in Egypt and Tunisia.
Amid the unrest, Al-Maliki has sacked governors, delayed military purchases to buy food instead and cut lawmakers' salaries. On Thursday, the Baghdad mayor became the latest Iraqi political figure to fall victim to the anti-government protests.
A government spokesman, Ali al-Moussawi, said Mayor Sabir al-Esawi submitted his resignation to al-Maliki on Thursday. He said the prime minister has not decided whether to accept it.
