Iraqi council announces prime minister pick
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi Governing Council has tapped one of its members to be prime minister in the interim government that will take over after the June 30 handover, a representative for the U.S.-appointed panel said Friday.
Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim, doctor and founder of the former exile group Iraqi National Accord, is the council's candidate. Allawi held the council's rotating presidency in October.
The announcement appeared to take the United Nations -- which had sent envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to help put together an interim government before the handoff date -- and the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority by surprise.
"It's not how we expected it to happen, no, but the Iraqis seem to agree on this candidate, and if they do, Mr. Brahimi is ready to work with this candidate," said Fred Eckhard, spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"I think Mr. Brahimi's original idea was probably to announce the full government at one time."
Eckhard said Brahimi's role had always been as a consultant to help the Iraqis and the U.S.-led coalition choose the interim government.
In Baghdad, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said Brahimi had the lead and that the governing council's decision was merely "an endorsement."
"Let's wait until we have a formal announcement rather than reacting to an organization's individual announcement," he said, adding that U.S. civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer had been at the meeting where Allawi was designated.
Earlier Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States had no position on any candidate and was awaiting word from Brahimi.
"I'm pleased that Mr. Allawi has that kind of support, but we are working with Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, the secretary-general's representative," Powell said, "and he is the one we are waiting to hear from not only with respect to the prime minister but the president, the two vice presidents as well as all of the Cabinet ministers."
But Iraqi Governing Council spokesman Hamid al-Kifai called the decision unanimous by the governing council, United Nations and the Coalition Provisional Authority.
"He was selected by all three parties," said al-Kifai, asserting Allawi would form a government in the next few days.
Allawi's Iraqi National Accord is made up largely of military defectors from Saddam Hussein's regime who had hoped to organize a coup within the Iraqi army.
Exiled from Iraq for many years, Allawi had been on the governing council's security committee, but he resigned last month in protest against the coalition's refusal to give the committee authority to deal with security issues, according to the Al-Arabiya TV network.
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