Maliki who was refusing to step aside despite the world thinking it best , has stepped down and will back the new Prime Minister
http://hosted.ap.org/...
Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister for the past eight years, relinquished the post to his nominated replacement late Thursday, ending a political deadlock that has plunged the country into uncertainty as it fights a Sunni militant insurgency.
Standing alongside fellow Dawa Party member, Haider-al-Abadi, al-Maliki said he was stepping aside in favor of his "brother," in order to "facilitate the political process and government formation."
al-Maliki also agreed to drop a suit before the constitutional court challenging al-Abadi's nomination.
Personally; I think Iran's Grand Ayatollah / supreme leader Ali Khamenei recently saying he supported the new appointment of Haider al-Abadi as prime minister is what was the final straw