ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Facing enormous pressure at home and abroad to step aside, Nuri al-Maliki dropped his bid for a third term as prime minister of Iraq on Thursday (August 14) and pledged support for his replacement, moderate Shi'ite Haider al-Abadi.
Appearing on state television flanked by Abadi and other Shi'ite politicians, Maliki spoke of the grave "terrorist" threat from Islamic State Sunni militants before giving up on his fight to stay on.
"I announce before you today, to ease the movement of the political process and the formation of the new government, the withdrawal of my candidacy in favor of brother Dr. Haider al-Abadi," said Maliki.
Abadi is seen as a far less polarizing figure who has a chance of uniting Iraqis against Sunni insurgents who have captured large parts of the country in the north and west - including Iraq's largest dam and five oil fields.
The announcement is likely to please the Sunni minority which dominated Iraq