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Iraqis pick new PM nominee in bid to break impasse

Shiite bloc moves to quell opposition from Sunnis, Kurds

Dawa Party member Jawad al-Maliki is the Shiite coalition's new nominee for Iraqi prime minister.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Shiite coalition agreed Friday to nominate a new candidate to replace interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a move that could jump-start the nation's stalled political process, two members of a top Shiite party said.

The choice of Jawad al-Maliki, a parliament member from the Dawa Party, came about in a meeting of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite-led coalition that won the December 15 parliamentary elections.

Two members of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a party in the alliance, confirmed the nomination, which will be presented to parliament when it convenes Saturday.

Al-Maliki is a member of the defense and national security committee in the transitional parliament.

Al-Maliki's nomination seeks to quell Kurdish, Sunni and secular politicians who vehemently opposed al-Jaafari's nomination in the new government. Sectarian violence and other attacks have plagued al-Jaafari's tenure, and his alliance with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also has fueled criticism.

The failure to form a government has created a political vacuum in the more than four months since Iraqis went to the polls to elect a parliament. (Watch an Iraqi envoy explain why the process is moving so slowly -- 12:30)

An aide to al-Jaafari said that the Shiite coalition also considered Ali al-Adeeb, who like al-Jaafari and al-Maliki, is a member of the Dawa Party.

Al-Maliki appears to be more acceptable to Sunnis than al-Adeeb, who's regarded as more of a religious hard-liner with closer ties to Iran, sources in parliament said.

A top Sunni Arab leader endorsed al-Maliki's selection.

"We will deal with Mr. [al-]Maliki and we will work together in order to form a unity government," said Tariq al-Hashimi -- secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest party in the most powerful Sunni Arab political bloc -- the Iraqi Accord Front.

Despite pressure from the United States, Britain and even Iraqi lawmakers, al-Jaafari refused to step down as the nominee until Thursday, when he apparently saw the writing on the wall and relented.

"I will never accept being a stumbling block or even to give the impression that I am a stumbling block," al-Jaafari said in a televised address Thursday night. "It is for this reason that I presented the bloc with the chance to review their position."

Iraqi politicians are planning to present their candidates for speaker, president and prime minister to the 275-member parliament, known as the Council of Representatives.

United Iraqi Alliance spokesman Humam Hammoudi said the Shiites view the Kurdish and Sunni nominees for president and parliament speaker in a positive fashion.

U.S. and British officials have urged the swift formation of a national unity government, saying it will help stem the discord and lead to the creation of a stable environment.

Sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites has grown since the February bombing of Al-Askariya Mosque, a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

Other developments

A U.S. Marine died Thursday in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, due to "enemy action," the U.S. military said Friday. The number of U.S. troops and military civilians killed in the Iraq war stands at 2,381.

An insurgent was killed and two others wounded in fighting between American troops and suspected militants late Thursday near Baquba, the U.S. military said Friday. In a search of the area in Diyala province north of the capital, U.S. soldiers also found a small cache of weapons and stolen Iraqi uniforms, officials said.

A trial began Thursday in New York for 18 anti-war protesters who call themselves the "Granny Peace Brigade." The defendants face disorderly conduct charges in an October 17 protest outside a Times Square military recruiting station. (Full story)

CNN's Auday Sadik contributed to this report.

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