Shi'ite bloc demands prime ministership

The Shi'ite alliance expected to win a commanding victory in Iraq's election will insist one of its members be appointed the country's next prime minister, a senior official in the alliance said yesterday.

The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is a key player in the United Iraqi Alliance, a group of mainly Islamist parties that won strong support from Iraq's 60 per cent Shi'ite majority in last Sunday's elections. If the alliance demands the prime ministership, it will be a blow to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who had hoped to be picked again as a compromise candidate.

Among those under consideration are Deputy President Ibrahim Jaafari, leader of the Dawa party, which is part of the alliance, as well as SCIRI official Adel Abdul Mahdi, who is finance minister, and Ahmad Chalabi.

Sources in the Alliance say Jaafari and Mahdi have a stronger chance of being named their prime ministerial candidate than Chalabi, who has fallen out of favour with Washington and has been involved in public rows with some Iraqi officials.

On Thursday, the main Kurdish bloc, expected to come second or third in the election, said it would demand that its candidate Jalal Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, should be either president or prime minister.

Bayati said the name of the president must be agreed between the three main ethnic and religious groups - Shi'ites, Kurds and Sunni Arabs. If the Kurds got the presidency, a Sunni Arab could be named head of the new National Assembly, he said.

The elections will determine the composition of a 275-member National Assembly that must in turn agree on a president and two vice presidents. These officials must then agree on a prime minister and appoint a cabinet.

Bayati said talks were already being held to discuss ministerial posts in the new government.