NEW YORK, Aug 15 (KUNA) -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Thursday commended Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's decision earlier in the day to withdraw his candidature and his pledge to support Haidar al-Abbadi as nominee to succeed him, his press office said in a statement.
"This will allow the crucial process to form a new government to proceed swiftly and within the time frame provided for in the Constitution. He acknowledges Mr. Al-Maliki's decision as a demonstration of his commitment to the orderly transfer of power in the best interest of the country," the statement said.
Ban urged all political leaders in Iraq to build on this "historic" opportunity by redoubling their efforts to work together and build consensus on how to address the many urgent and grave challenges facing their country. He also looked forward to the "swift formation of an inclusive, broad-based government" ready to immediately tackle these pressing issues. (end) sj.rk