Gunmen abduct 50 Iraqis; Bombing kills 9
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-09 19:35

The Shiite Alliance is itself divided over al-Jaafari's candidacy. He defeated Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite and one of two vice presidents, by a single vote in the Shiite caucus last month, largely because of al-Sadr's backing.

Talabani, whose job it is to call parliament into session, sought to do that three days ago but was unable to persuade Abdul-Mahdi to sign as required by the constitution. Talabani was trying to force the hand of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the country's senior Shiite politician and head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Abdul-Mahdi heads the Shiite parliamentary bloc loyal to al-Hakim.

A senior Shiite politician, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity nature of the information, said Abdul-Mahdi signed Talabani's presidential decree after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad sought al-Hakim's intervention during a meeting Tuesday.

Political insiders now say al-Jaafari's candidacy depends on how the bloc loyal to al-Hakim and Abdul-Mahdi decides to vote. Al-Hakim and Abdul-Mahdi are widely said by politicians to oppose his nomination but have held back from outright opposition because they fear incurring the wrath of al-Sadr.

Nadim al-Jabiri, head of one of six other Shiite political factions, said the decision to sign was made on advice Wednesday from Iraq's Federal Court, which said parliament could be convened through an alternative process if Abdul-Mahdi continued to hold out.

By law, parliament has 15 days after it is convened to elect a new president. It then has 15 more days to approve the prime minister, and 30 days after that to vote on his Cabinet.