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.
 
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)