Iraq’s Abdul Mahdi says will walk away from caretaker PM role

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Adel Abdul Mahdi will walk away from his role as Iraq’s caretaker prime minister and will not conduct most of his official duties, he said in a statement on Monday, deepening a political crisis in the oil producer.

Abdul Mahdi called on parliament to call early elections on Dec. 4, the statement said, which came a day after lawmakers failed to approve a cabinet of his designated successor Mohammed Allawi, who later then withdrew his candidacy.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Alison Williams)