Iraq’s Vice-President Abdul-Mahdi resigns due to wish of Supreme Islamic Council’s Leadership

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq ’s First Vice-President, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has presented his resignation from his post, according to the willingness of the Supreme Islamic Council, because of what was described as “the mechanism followed by the political process,” a Supreme Islamic Council leader said on Monday.   “Vice-President, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has presented his resignation officially to President Jalal Talabani, according to the willingness of the Supreme Islamic Council, because of the mechanism followed in the political process that was noticed by everybody,” Jumaa al-Atwany told IraqiNews.com news agency, adding that the Council won’t present a substitute for Abdul-Mahdi.’’   Atwani said that “the struggle for narrow-party interests, on the expense of the supreme national interests, under the current situation passing on Iraq and the Region, and non-sincerity in the activity, all those reasons, as well as the appreciation of the supreme national interest had made Abdul-Mahdi to prefer to withdraw from his post as Vice-President.”   “There is an important nucleus point for the resignation, being that the voting by the Parliament on the three Vice-Presidents had taken place in one consignment, that was agreed upon outside the Parliament,” he said.   “After the entrance to the Parliament hall and the completion of the attendance by its members, the voting began, and the Legislatures of the Supreme Islamic Council rejected it, along with the refusal of the (Shiite) Religious Authority in Najaf of the voting in ‘one basket,’ he said, adding that all those reasons have made Abdul-Mahdi withdraw from his post.   Atwani said that President Talabani had not accepted the resignation yet, adding that “I guess he won’t easily accept it, because President Talabani strongly supports Dr. Adel Abdul-Mahdi, due to his efficiency and experience in steering the State.”   Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the Leader in the Supreme Islamic Council, had apologized for President Talabani, on March 28 th last, to accept the post of Vice-President, explaining that the post “had become useless under the delay of its promulgation, that continued for 4 months, when he said in a letter addressed to President Talabani, that he had requested the Chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council, Ammar al-Hakim, to nominate another person for the post.   Adel Abdul-Mahdi, born in 1948, is one of the leaders of the Supreme Islamic Council, led by Ammar al-Hakim and he was sentenced to death in the 1960s due to his political activity.   He had then moved to live in Iran and represented the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraqi Kurdistan from 1992 to 1996.   After 2003, Abdul-Mahdi became a member in the Provisional Ruling Council, followed by his occupation of the post of Finance Minister in the government of former Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, followed by his post as Vice-President during Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki’s government, in its previous session.   SKH (FT)     1489 BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq ’s First Vice-President, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has presented his resignation from his post, according to the willingness of the Supreme Islamic Council, because of what was described as “the mechanism followed by the political process,” a Supreme Islamic Council leader said on Monday.   “Vice-President, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, has presented his resignation officially to President Jalal Talabani, according to the willingness of the Supreme Islamic Council, because of the mechanism followed in the political process that was noticed by everybody,” Jumaa al-Atwany told IraqiNews.com news agency, adding that the Council won’t present a substitute for Abdul-Mahdi.’’   Atwani said that “the struggle for narrow-party interests, on the expense of the supreme national interests, under the current situation passing on Iraq and the Region, and non-sincerity in