Jaafari set to remain Iraqi PM

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari looked set to keep the top job in Iraq's new government yesterday after his ruling Shi'ite bloc nominated him to tackle the same crises that dogged his last cabinet.

After weeks of wrangling that exposed divisions in the biggest bloc in parliament, the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) resorted to a vote to pick a candidate, with Mr Jaafari beating pragmatic economist Adel Abdul Mahdi by just one vote.

As the biggest bloc in parliament after winning 128 of the 275 seats, the alliance will be asked by the next president to name a prime minister, to be approved by a simple parliamentary majority, under the Iraqi constitution.

So Mr Jaafari, a leader in the Dawa party, is almost certain to remain in office to lead the first full-term government since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The challenges remain staggering - an insurgency that has ravaged Iraq, bloody sectarian tensions and a battered economy that few foreign investors will touch despite vast oil wealth.

One of the most sensitive issues shows no signs of going away. Sunni Arabs allege that Shi'ite militias linked to Mr Jaafari's partners in the ruling alliance run death squads against Sunnis. Mr Jaafari's government has denied the accusation.