Over the weekend, Iraq’s PM-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy, facing an inability to get parliament votes to allow him to form a cabinet. Acting PM Adel Abdul Mahdi is now following, with a Monday resignation.
Abdul Mahdi was the previous prime minister, and resigned months ago in the face of anti-government protests. He stayed on as an acting premier, pending the appointment of a replacement.
With little chance of a new government forming soon, Abdul Mahdi has confirmed his resignation, and is now calling on the government to hold early elections as soon as possible.
Iraq is in a tough position in that regard. Getting to early elections likely requires electoral law reforms, and another PM-designate to oversee matters. The protesters are likely to reject almost anyone, particularly after Allawi was offered. That could mean further dragging out the process.
Iraq should have a military appointed caretaker government. In the current vacuum, they will disintegrate. There is no governance to deal with acute problems, to enforce institutional functioning and prevent foreign meddling into internal politics, sliding backwards into sectarian divide.
There are sometimes no other options.