Former Najaf governor Adnan Al Zurufi appointed Iraq’s prime minister-designate

Iraq’s President Barham Salih has appointed the former governor of Najaf province to be the country’s next prime minister-designate.

Adnan Al Zurufi, a former official of the US-run authorities that took over Iraq after the 2003 invasion to remove Saddam Hussein, is head of the Nasr parliamentary grouping of former prime minister Haider Al Abadi, also a US ally.

Mr Al Zurufi is the second man to be tapped to try and form a government since prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigned in late November after a bloody crackdown on demonstrators in the country’s south.

Since October, the county has been rocked by mass demonstrations against corruption, inefficient governance and poor service provision.

Amid the government response, well over 500 protesters were killed and thousands were wounded by soldiers and Iran-backed militias.

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi was first tapped to replace Mr Abdul-Mahdi in February but withdrew his nomination after failing to get the backing of enough MPs to secure the vote of confidence.

Source: The National