Uncertainty looms as Iraqi PM-designate Allawi steps down

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi has withdrawn his candidacy for the post, accusing members of the country’s fractured parliament of standing in his way and prolonging a months-long political crisis.

Allawi’s move on Sunday came hours after legislators failed for the second time this week to approve his cabinet of independents amid political infighting in a country that has been rocked by months of anti-establishment protests that forced the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.