In evoking a resignation of the Prime Minister and early elections, Iraqi President Barham Saleh sought to respond, Thursday, October 31, the popular demands expressed massively in the street since the beginning of the month. The head of state addressed the Iraqis on television while the country is shaken by a protest movement demanding the departure of the entire political class, deemed unfit and corrupt. The violence during this movement has killed more than 250 people since 1 October.

The departure of the Prime Minister is not yet acted: Adel Abdel Mahdi "agrees to resign" if the blocks in Parliament agree on a replacement. It is, in the words of President Saleh, to ensure a transition "within the constitutional and legal framework that will prevent any constitutional vacancy".

Whatever the fate of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, "I want to assure you that, as President of the Republic, I will approve the holding of early elections under a new electoral law and under the supervision of 'a new Electoral Commission,' said President Saleh. This new electoral law must be submitted to Parliament's vote "next week", he said.

The Constitution, passed in 2005, provides that Parliament may, on its own initiative or that of the President of the Republic, withdraw its confidence in the Prime Minister. The case of a resignation, however, is not mentioned, while in 16 years, no Prime Minister left his post before the end of his four-year term.

"Problem with all parties in power"

In Tahrir Square in Baghdad, epicenter of the protest, the president's speech does not seem to convince. "A resignation of Abdel Mahdi is only part of the solution.The problem we have is with all parties in power," retorted AFP Haydar Kazem, demonstrating 49 years.

The Prime Minister had already said he was ready Tuesday to resign if the main blocs in Parliament - that of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr and that of Hadi al-Ameri, leader of the pro-Iran paramilitary Hachd al-Shaabi - were agreement on a new government and a new prime minister. But the two blocks are still diverging.

Under the complicated system of distribution of posts according to the confessions and ethnicities in Iraq, the post of Prime Minister returns to a Shiite. But in a country where Iran and the United States want to extend their influence, the Prime Minister must also agree to the two acting powers, themselves enemies.

Conditions of departure of the Prime Minister

The main blocs in Parliament and members of the government coalition are divided. On the one hand, the Shiite populist Moqtada al-Sadr showed himself in the middle of the demonstrators. On the other hand, Hadi al-Ameri, pro-Iran paramilitary leader of Hashd al-Shaabi, has aligned himself with Iran for whom the "void" leads to chaos.

However, a departure from Adel Abdel Mahdi, an independent without partisan or popular base, can only pass through the Parliament that can withdraw his trust and find a replacement.

Since Monday, this Assembly claims that it appears before it, in vain. She accepted Thursday the condition imposed by the Prime Minister, who demanded that the session be broadcast live on television.

In the South, the mobilization does not weaken, according to AFP correspondents on the spot. In Diwaniya, students went out on the streets, as were schoolchildren and teachers on general strike, and civil servants.

In the cities of Hilla, Nassiriya, Samawa and Amara, new gatherings have also been formed. In Basra, protesters have in recent days blocked the road to the port of Umm Qasr, raising concern of the authorities for imports, including food.

With AFP