Iraq's Shiite Alliance on Friday nominated Jawad al-Maliki to replace incumbent Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari as the next premier, raising hopes that a political impasse that has plagued the country for months will finally come to an end.

In a meeting on Friday evening, leaders of seven parties from the dominating Shiite Alliance in the parliament agreed "by consensus" to name al-Maliki as the new candidate for the premier post, said Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, who was from the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the largest party in the Alliance.

Al-Maliki is a key ally of al-Jaafari and both of them are from the Shiite Dawa party.

Al-Jaafari's nomination by his the Shiite Alliance in February touched off strong opposition from both Sunni Arabs and Kurds and even some inside the Shiite Alliance, which resulted in a lengthy political deadlock.

Bowing to pressures, al-Jaafari said in a televised speech on Thursday that he was ready to step aside at the request of the Shiite bloc.

Some Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties seemed ready to accept al-Maliki as the next prime minister.

"If anyone is nominated except al-Jaafari, we won't put any obstacles in his way," said Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of a main Sunni political bloc in the parliament.

Also on Friday, Iraqi politicians reached agreement on candidates of other key posts, including the president and parliament speaker.

Jalal al-Talabani, a Kurd, would continue serving as the president, Shiite lawmaker Ridha Jawad Taqi said, adding that Sunni Arab Tareq al-Hashemi and Shiite Adil Abedel-Mahdi would become al-Talabani's two deputies.

The post of parliament speaker would be held by Sunni politician Mahmoud al-Mashhadani from the National Consensus Front, with two vice speakers- Khalid Attiya, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd, he added.

The nominations are set to be approved by the parliament scheduled to convene on Saturday, he said.
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According to Iraqi law, the presidential council, consisting of the president and two deputies, shall put the nominee for premiership to a parliamentary vote.

Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis have not put together a new government four months after the December general elections as Iraq is infested with bloody insurgency, sectarian violence and intensified gang crimes.

Many hope that the nomination of al-Maliki will clear the way for the establishment of a national unity government, which is expected to curb violence and prevent the country from slipping in to civil war.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2006)