The decision to appoint Iraq's new president has been put off for another day as debates rage between the Iraqi Governing Council and Ambassador Paul Bremer, back by UN-envoy Mr Lakdhar Brahimi, over who would be the best man for the job.
"We debated for three hours today, and there's going to be a lot more arguing ahead," said Mr Mahmoud Othman, an independent member of the council.
Sheikh Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, a businessman related to the Saudi Royal family, is the council's choice for president. The head of one of the Middle East's largest Sunni tribes, the al-Shamer, he spent most of his career in Saudi Arabia and the US. "He's young, and flexible, with a lot of local support," said Mr Othman.
Sheikh Al-Yawar's rival for the largely ceremonial post of president is veteran politician Mr Adnan Pachachi, who last held office in 1967 as the foreign minister in the pre-Baath regime of President Abdul Rahman Arif.
He is also a Sunni. Mr Pachachi won Mr Bremer's support for his work drafting the interim government's constitution. He is a close friend of Mr Brahimi's. Council members say Mr Pachachi's age - he will be 82 this year - makes him an unsuitable candidate "He commands great respect but he is inflexible," said Mr Othman.
The selection of president has proved the main obstacle to appointing Iraq's interim government. A ceremony to announce it was planned for Monday, until the latest wrangling.
US and UN officials may now be ready to propose a third candidate to break the deadlock, one senior Iraqi official said.
Council member Mr Yonadam Kanna said during a break in talks that Mr Bremer and Mr Brahimi were floating a compromise choice. "We hear from Bremer and the UN there is another candidate. We have not been informed who," Mr Kanna, a Christian, said. -(Additional reporting: Reuters)