Iraqi Premier Vows to Resign as Anti-Government Protests Rage

(Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said he’ll resign to parliament, according to a statement from his office issued a day after some of the worst violence during two months of anti-government protests.

Mahdi said he will offer his resignation “to allow parliament to review its options and act to preserve the interests of Iraq.” The alternative could be a “vortex of violence, chaos and destruction,” he said.

The decision comes after a representative of Iraq’s top Shiite cleric urged lawmakers to promptly hold “free and honest” elections to prevent the OPEC member from slipping into deeper chaos as the protests rage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Souhail Karam in Rabat at skaram10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Colin Keatinge, Mark Williams

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