Former communications minister Mohammed Allawi was named prime minister-designate by rival Iraqi factions Saturday after weeks of political deadlock, three officials said. The selection of Allawi, 66, to replace Iraq’s caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, was the product of many backroom talks over months between rival parties. He resigned after a dispute with former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Instead, it has taken rival blocs nearly two months of jockeying to select Allawi as their consensus candidate. To avoid political crisis, Sairoon and Fatah forged a precarious union with Abdul Mahdi as their prime minister.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 01, 2020 16:27 UTC