Shiite leaders from the powerful United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) failed yesterday to decide on the fate of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari who has been given the thumbs down by Kurds and Sunni Arabs.
They broke off talks aimed at resolving Iraq's political impasse until tomorrow.
The alliance leaders met for about two hours but were unable to decide on whether or not to replace Jaafari after his candidacy as the next premier faced stiff opposition from the Kurdish and the Sunni factions.
"The meeting has ended," said Bassem Sharif, spokesman of the Fadhila party, part of the Shiite alliance. He said the "leaders will meet again Wednesday."
Sharif said the Shiite leaders heard the report of a three-member committee that had been mandated by the alliance to hold talks with the Kurdish, Sunni and the secularist groups over Jaafari's candidacy.
"Their report was heard," he said, adding that the secularists led by former premier Iyad Allawi "had reservations about the programs of the alliance and not about Jaafari himself."
On Monday, Allawi's group had rejected Jaafari's candidacy, along with the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs.
Earlier yesterday the Fadhila party stepped up pressure on the UIA by saying it was ready to offer a candidate to replace Jaafari if the Shiite alliance failed to pass his candidacy.
"If the UIA does not succeed in securing the candidacy of Mr Jaafari, the Fadhila party is ready to propose another candidate," Sharif told a press conference, without giving a name.
Fadhila had put forward Nadim Jabiri as a potential candidate for the premier's post in a February vote which saw Jaafari beat Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi, but Jabibi later withdrew his candidacy.
Meanwhile, Iraq's parliament, which must approve any nominee for prime minister, will meet at a date likely to be announced tomorrow, an assembly spokesman said.
Acting Speaker Adnan Pachachi was expected to set the date for parliament's next session, the spokesman said yesterday.
He did not specify its agenda, but the announcement could signal movement in intense efforts to break a deadlock on forming a new unity government four months after elections.
Yesterday's meeting was also aimed at ending the almost four months of political deadlock in the violence-wracked country since legislative elections were held in mid-December.
Sectarian violence has surged across the country in recent weeks as political leaders battle to end the political impasse, with hundreds killed in a wave of bombings and shootings.
The dominant UIA, which won 128 out of 275 parliament seats in the December election, chose Jaafari by a single vote in February but his nomination has faced stiff resistance amid accusations he has failed to quell the violence.
The alliance lacks the overall majority in parliament needed to push through a nomination for prime minister on its own.
The deadlock over Jaafari has stalled the formation of a national unity government despite sustained pressure from the US which is looking to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Iraqi state television al-Iraqiya said yesterday that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had spoken to Jaafari and discussed the current political situation.
US President George W. Bush also called upon Iraqi leaders to resolve the political crisis.
"The longer Iraq's leaders delay in forming a unity government, the greater the risk that the terrorists and former regime elements will succeed in their efforts to foment division and to stop the progress of an Iraq democracy," Bush said on Monday in Washington.
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