Iraq's government spokesman on Wednesday said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accepted the resignation of his electricity minister as the authorities face growing public anger over power outages. Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press that al-Maliki may appoint a new electricity minister as early as Wednesday.
Until then, al-Maliki will oversee the Electricity Ministry. Electricity Minister Karim Waheed offered Monday to quit after two protesters were killed when demonstrations over power outages turned violent and prompted security forces to open fire.
Seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq electricity generation does not satisfy the demand. Many Iraqis rely on private generators to make up for electrical shortages, but they have to pay high monthly costs.
