[04/September/2010]

BAGHDAD, Sept. 4 (Saba) -- The Shiite religious bloc, Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a main political rival of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, named late Friday a candidate to head the next Iraqi government, which further complicated the formation of the new government, an Iraqi newspaper reported Saturday, according to Xinhua.

"The powers of the INA met today and agreed to present Adel Abdul Mehdi as a candidate for the prime minister position, hoping this step will facilitate the task of the National Alliance to solve the crisis of the formation of the government," said al- Mashriq, an independent Iraqi daily.

The INA which won 70 parliamentary seats in March elections formed a broader Shiite coalition called the National Alliance with Maliki's State of Law which owns 89 seats.

But the National Alliance, the biggest coalition in the parliament with 159 seats, has proved that it is far from being unified over who will be the head of its broad Shiite coalition and the candidate for prime minister, as the INA has strongly opposed giving Maliki a second term.

The cross-sectarian bloc of Iraqia List, headed by the former prime minister Ayad Allawi, won 91 seats in the parliamentary elections, just two seats more than Maliki's bloc.

The narrow winning in the parliamentary polls produced no clear winner, sparking bitter row about who should have the right to form the next government as Allawi rejected the federal court's interpretation to the constitutional expressions of "largest bloc. " The court said "largest bloc" means the largest number of seats for either the bloc that wins the elections or the coalition of blocs that could be formed before the first session of the new parliament.

However, presenting Adel Adul Mehdi as INA's own candidate for prime minister complicated the political scene in Iraq after six month of the elections. Although the INA said it is not seeking to break up the alliance with Maliki's State of Law but rather to put pressure on the State of Law bloc to change Maliki as their sole candidate.

Saba