Iraqi PM nomination raises possible end to impasse

Iraq's ruling Shi'ite Alliance nominated Jawad al-Maliki for Prime Minister yesterday, winning support from the main Sunni Arab bloc and raising a possible end to a four-month deadlock over forming a coalition government.

No reaction was available from the Kurdish alliance, whose support would be key to a national unity government that Washington hopes can avert any slide towards a sectarian civil war and draw Sunni Arab insurgents into the political process.

Mr Maliki, a leader in the Dawa party who spent years living in Shi'ite-dominated Iran during Saddam Hussein's rule, had previously been seen as an unlikely candidate for Prime Minister because he was widely viewed as a sectarian politician.

"When we heard Maliki was nominated we held discussions and decided we welcome him and we have informed the (Shi'ite) Alliance," Iyad al-Samarraie, a leading official in the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni bloc, said.

"We know he has made tough statements in the past but we have sat down with him for long periods of time and we feel he has a strong intention to treat the problems facing Iraq."

Shi'ite Alliance officials said Mr Maliki won six out of seven votes in the bloc for the nomination, on the the eve of a parliamentary session on Saturday - only the second time the chamber has sat since December elections because of the impasse.