BAGHDAD (AP) - Three Iraqi officials say former communications minister Mohammed Allawi was named prime minister desugnate by rival Iraqi factions on Saturday after weeks of political deadlock.
The choice comes as the country weathers troubled times amid ongoing violent anti-government protests while under the constant threat of being ensnared by festering U.S.-Iran tensions.
The selection of Allawi, 66, a former minister of communications, to replace outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi was the product of many back-room talks over months between rival parties.
On Wednesday, President Barham Saleh gave parliamentary blocs until Feb. 1 to select a premier candidate, or said he would exercise his constitutional powers and choose one himself.
In a pre-recorded statement posted online, Allawi called on protesters to continue with their uprising against corruption and said he would quit if the blocs insist on imposing names of ministers.
“If it wasn’t for your sacrifices and courage there wouldn’t have been any change in the country," he said addressing anti-government protesters. “I have faith in you and ask you to continue with the protests."
Allawi was born in Baghdad and served as communications minister first in 2006 and again between 2010-2012. He resigned from his post after a dispute with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Parliament is expected to put his candidacy to a vote in the next session, after which point he has 30 days to formulate a government program and select a cabinet of ministers.
According to the constitution, a replacement for Abdul-Mahdi should have been identified fifteen days after his resignation in early December. Instead, it has taken rival blocs nearly two months of jockeying to select Allawi as their consensus candidate.
Abdul-Mahdi’s rise to power was the product of a provisional alliance between parliament’s two main blocs — Sairoon, led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and Fatah, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units headed by Hadi al-Amiri.