Iraqi parliament set to name Kurd as new president

Iraq's squabbling factions reached agreement yesterday on the country's next president and vice presidents, leading politicians said, in a key step towards overcoming a political stalemate and forming a new government.

Leaders of the main political blocs said veteran Kurdish politician Jalal Talabani would be named president at a parliament meeting today, more than nine weeks after millions of Iraqis braved insurgent bombs to vote.

Politicians said the two vice presidents will be Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite who was finance minister in the outgoing government, and Sunni Arab tribal leader Ghazi Yawar, the previous president.

The Islamist-led Shi'ite alliance that won a slim majority in parliament and the Kurdish coalition that came second in the polls have been arguing over the shape of the new government for weeks.

They have also been trying to include representatives of the Sunni Arab minority that dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein but was left sidelined after most Sunni Arabs stayed away from the January 30 polls. There are only 17 Sunni Arab lawmakers in the 275-member parliament.

Disagreement over which Sunni Arab would be vice president held up a deal, but political leaders said late yesterday that Mr Yawar had been chosen over elder statesman Adnan Pachachi.

Once the presidential council is appointed it must name a prime minister, who will choose a Cabinet. Shi'ites and Kurds have agreed that Islamist Shi'ite leader Ibrahim Jaafari will be prime minister, taking over from secular Shi'ite Iyad Allawi.