Iraq's Shia politicians have agreed to nominate Jawad al-Maliki as their new candidate for prime minister. Al-Maliki is a close ally of previous nominee Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the acting Iraqi prime minister, whose candidacy led to months of political deadlock after it was strongly opposed by Sunni and Kurdish politicians. Humam Hammoudi, spokesman for the United Iraqi Alliance, made the announcement live on Iraqi television on Friday.Sunni and Kurdish politicians have indicated they will not oppose Maliki's candidacy. "If anyone is nominated except al-Jaafari, we won't put any obstacles in his way. He will receive our support," said Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the main Sunni Arab coalition in the Iraqi parliament.
Mahmoud Othman, a leading Kurdish politician, said his bloc would not oppose Maliki. "Maliki is clearly the front runner and there is no objection to his candidacy from any of the parliamentary blocs," he said. The new Shia nominee is to be presented to a session of the Iraqi parliament on Saturday, when the other senior government appointments are expected to be finalised.