Nouri al-Maliki resigned as prime minister of Iraq in a television broadcast late last night, a move made inevitable after he was ousted from power by members of his own parliamentary coalition earlier in the week.

He made the announcement with his successor, Haider al-Abadi, at his side, who was asked to take over as as the new prime minister on 12 August.

In his broadcast, Al-Maliki said: “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 favour of brother Dr Haider al-Abadi,” reports the BBC.

Initially, he had refused to step aside, calling his replacement a “violation of the constitution”.

Al-Maliki was prime minister for eight years, and his State of Law coalition won a third term following the election in April. But his time in office was marred by political infighting. He was blamed during his premiership for marginalising Iraq’s Sunni minority, contributing to support growing support for extremist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), now the Islamic State, in parts of the country where Sunni populations are large.

Appointed deputy speaker of parliament in July, Al-Abadi is a member of the Shia Islamic Dawa Party and a former adviser to Al-Maliki. He is supported widely by Shia and Kurdish parties, as well as some Sunni politicians. His appointment was also approved by the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia.