Iraq's Maliki remains defiant on third term as insurgency rages

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to the media on the situation in Iraq on the South Lawn of the White House, before his departure for vacation at Martha's Vineyard, in Washington August 9, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki indicated that he will not drop his bid for a third term and accused the president of violating the constitution in a tough televised speech likely to deepen political tensions as a Sunni insurgency rages.

Maliki, seen as an authoritarian and sectarian leader, has defied calls by Sunnis, Kurds, some fellow Shi'ites and regional power broker Iran to step aside for a less polarising figure who can unite Iraqis against Islamic State militants.