[JURIST] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], a Kurd, called for the resignation of Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] Sunday. Talabani blamed the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance [Wikipedia backgrounder] for the country's political deadlock, accusing the majority party of monopolizing power and refusing to move ahead on a key issue for Kurds [JURIST report], the resettlement in Kirkuk. Azad Jundiyani, a spokesman for Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said al-Jaafari's resignation would be "for the benefit of the political process." Jawad al-Maliki, a Shiite legislator and a leader in al-Jaafari's Dawaa party said "They should have asked us for that in a legal way, and then we will have discussions," adding that because of the October 15th constitutional referendum [JURIST news archive], it was not a good time for al-Jaafari to step down. AP has more.