Mohammed Allawi has been selected as the country’s prime minister-designate after weeks of political deadlock. The selection of Mr Allawi, 66, Iraq’s 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. Iraqi President Barham Salih gave parliamentary blocs until Saturday to select a candidate or he would exercise his constitutional powers and choose one himself. He resigned from his post after a dispute with former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Instead, it has taken rival blocs nearly two months of jockeying to select Mr Allawi as their consensus candidate.

Source: Irish Examiner February 01, 2020 15:45 UTC