Iraqi PM hangs on to job

Ibrahim al-Jaafari

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari looked set to keep the top job in Iraq's new government today 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 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 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 Jaafari's partners in the ruling alliance run death squads against Sunnis. Jaafari's government has denied the accusation.

The end of the alliance's negotiations could pave the way for the start of talks on the formation of a government nearly two months after the December 15 parliamentary election.

In a news conference after he won the vote, Jaafari announced sweeping plans but offered no specifics, language that has earned him a reputation as a slow decision maker.

"The priorities of the new government will be the same as the last one's -- security, the economy and rebuilding," he said.

Washington, encouraged that Sunnis voted after boycotting last January's poll, hope for a balanced new cabinet that will help defuse the Sunni insurgency.

Hussein al-Falluji, an official in the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, reacted cautiously to Jaafari's nomination.

"It's not a matter of whether we are happy about Jaafari or not. This is politics. We respect his nomination and we believe in changing Iraq through politics. Our priority will be working with Jaafari to end the American occupation," he said.

Aside from highlighting splits among leaders of Iraq's 60 per cent majority Shi'ites, the vote pointed to the emergence of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as a rebel leader turned kingmaker.

Sadr, who has led two uprisings against US and Iraqi troops, apparently swung the crucial votes to Jaafari, whom he favours over his rival leaders of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).

The stalemate in alliance negotiations had delayed the start of talks on what Iraqi officials hope will be a united government.

Shi'ite leaders said it was time to look ahead to what are likely to be far tougher negotiations on the formation of a new government, which will face many sectarian difficulties.

"The alliance has to move quickly from now to form a government because it has the biggest responsibility as it is the biggest bloc inside parliament," said SCIRI leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

Abdul Mehdi predicted a government could be formed by the end of this month or the middle of March if negotiations ran smoothly. But talks after last January's polls took months.

Jaafari, born in 1947, fled to Iran in the 1980s during Saddam's crackdown on Dawa, which culminated in the execution of the party's founder.

Opposing Saddam from exile, first in Tehran and then in Britain, Jaafari gained a reputation as a thinker and subtle backroom negotiator.

He became prime minister for the first time 10 months ago. Jaafari's patience will be put to the test again if parliament approves him in the post.

- REUTERS