Iraq's president formally asked Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today to form a new government, giving him 30 days to choose a cabinet from among Iraq's fractious Shia, Kurdish and Sunni political factions.
The official request from President Jalal Talabani came two weeks after political leaders reached an agreement to divide up the top government jobs, a deal that put Maliki, a Shia, on track for a second term as premier.
The power-sharing pact, more than eight months after an inconclusive March 7th parliamentary election, offered some hope that Iraq could avoid a return to the sectarian warfare that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006 and 2007.
The deal gave Mr Talabani, a Kurd, another term as president and installed Sunni lawmaker Osama al-Nujaifi as speaker of parliament.
Reuters
