Baghdad: Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari will retain his position in the first full-term government since 2003.
The ruling United Iraqi Alliance's members of parliament have elected him to be the Prime Minister. He defeated contender Adel Abdul Mahdi by just one vote.
It is believed that supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has led two uprisings against the US and Iraqi troops, swung the crucial votes his way.
Jaafari belongs to the Dawa party, which is part of the ruling alliance. In the December elections, the bloc trounced Washington favorite Iyad Allawi. Jaafari had fled to Iran in the 1980s and opposed Saddam Hussein from exile.
In a sign of divisions within the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), however, Jaafari won 64 votes in the movement's ballot to defeat Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi by just a single vote following weeks of wrangling.
His appointment is to be formally sealed by a new three-member presidential council due to be selected by two-thirds of the 275-member parliament when it sits in the next two weeks.
Jaafari's 10-month term has been marked by a persistent insurgency, something he said he would continue to tackle in his next term.
(With AFP inputs)
Comments
0 comment