Shiites nominate new Iraq PM

Iraq's ruling Shiite Alliance nominated Jawad Al Maliki as its new candidate for prime minister yesterday in an effort to end four months of political paralysis over the formation of a government.

Al Maliki is a top ally of outgoing Prime Minister Ebrahim Al Jaafari, whose nomination had sparked sharp opposition from Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders and caused a monthslong deadlock.

With the deal on Al Maliki, who also won support from the main Sunni bloc, Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties also agreed on nominees to fill the other top posts of government, to be presented to parliament for approval today, lawmaker Ridha Jawad Taqi said.

Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, would remain as president for a second term, with Sunni Arab Tareq Al Hashemi and Shiite Adil Abdul Madi would hold the two vice-president spots. Mahmoud Al Mashhadani, a Sunni, would become parliament speaker with two deputies Khalid Attiya, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.

The United States hopes Iraqi leaders will form a national unity government that can avert any slide into a sectarian civil war and draw Sunnis insurgents into the political process.

A senior Shiite Alliance official said the bloc now had to put forward Al Maliki to Kurdish alliances for approval, hopefully before parliament convenes today. A television station run by the bloc also said Al Maliki had been nominated.

The Shiite Alliance's original choice for the job, Al Jaafari, signalled in a televised speech on Thursday he was ready to step aside at the request of the bloc after resisting widespread calls for his resignation for months.

Even if Al Maliki, who is close to Jaafari, wins support from all political alliances, there are no guarantees he will manage to tackle the insurgency, ease sectarian strife and rescue an economy starved of foreign investment.

In continuing violence, gunmen killed five Iraqi soldiers as they left a restaurant in the northern city of Baiji, police said, highlighting the security nightmare that a new government faces.