IRAQ: Iraq's interim Prime Minister Mr Iyad Allawi sought to widen his support base yesterday in an attempt to keep his job and lead the country's next government.
Mr Allawi is one of two men in the frame for the post, the other being Islamist Shia politician Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Mr Jaafari is the clear front runner, having won the backing on Tuesday of Iraq's most powerful political alliance.
But Mr Allawi, a secular Shia who has ruled the country for the past eight months, has refused to throw in his hand and said yesterday he had pulled together support from outside his own political list.
He did not specify who his new backers were, saying only that they were "brothers from smaller lists" than his own, who won a handful of seats in last month's election.
"[ Those who] won the elections are still discussing the main nominees for the posts - the five posts including the presidency, his deputies and the prime minister," he said.
The Shia alliance backing Mr Jaafari won 48 per cent of the vote, giving it 140 seats and a slim overall majority in the new 275-seat parliament. But it does not have the two-thirds majority it needs to secure Mr Jaafari's appointment, and will have to cut deals with other parties and coalitions to get its way. - (Reuters)