Iraqiya talks of political breakthrough

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BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A deal is in the works where the Iraqi vice president would become prime minister in a power-sharing deal with a secular leader and Kurds, a party leader said.

Aliya Nusseif, a key figure in the secular Iraqiya slate, told the Voices of Iraq news agency that there was an "initial agreement" to give Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi the position of prime minister and Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi the position of president. A member of a Kurdish alliance would get the position of the speaker of parliament.

Iraq is moving toward seven months without a new government. Iraqiya won March 7 elections by two seats, though it didn't secure the majority needed to form a government alone.

Various agreements and names have surfaced since March over the top Cabinet positions. If the deal goes forward, it would deal an obvious blow to incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was seeking a second term in office.

The vice president suggested in an interview with London's pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat earlier this week that leaders capable of breaking the political impasse hold more credibility than those clinging to constitutional measures.

Iraqiya maintains it has the right to try to form a government first under the terms of the constitution. Nusseif maintain her party has no ambitions other than to usher in "changes that would (put) the political process back on its democratic track."