Chalabi vying for Iraq PM post

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (AFP) - Iraq’s Ahmed Chalabi, once supported by the United States only to fall from favor, said Sunday that he is vying to become his country’s prime minister, following the formal announcement of election results there.

"I am nominated for position of prime minister. And I will work with my colleagues to win this position," Chalabi, a Shia, told CNN television.

To the anger of anti-Iran hardliners within the government, Chalabi — the leading Iraqi cheerleader for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq — was a candidate on a ticket with Iran-backed Shiite religious parties, despite his secular views.

He deemed his chances of gaining the prime minister’s post as fairly good.

"I’m supported by many of the winners in the United Iraqi Alliance," he said.

Chalabi, who fell out of favor in Washington over US accusations that he had been passing top-secret US intelligence assessments to neighbouring Iran, has long been dogged by allegations of corruption and was convicted by a Jordan court for embezzling funds from the collapsed Petra bank.

Asked if Chalabi is acceptable politically to Iraqi Kurds, Deputy prime Minister Barham Saleh, said: "We will be dealing with whomever will be nominated to this position, based on policy issues and based on solid guarantees that they will remain true to the ideals of democracy ... working on the constitutional process and being committed to the rule of law and justice in Iraq."

The New York Times reported on Sunday that US diplomat Robert Ford met with Chalabi in Baghdad this past week.

"More than anything, the visit by the American diplomat demonstrated the change in Mr. Chalabi’s political fortunes in his native land," the Times stressed.

"Vilified in the United States as the man who fed exaggerated reports of Saddam’s weaponry to intelligence agencies, and often listed as one of the most unpopular people in Iraq, Mr. Chalabi is now all but assured a seat in the National Assembly. Over the past several days he has begun maneuvering to become the country’s prime minister," it added.

Turnout was extremely low in most of the Sunni heartland, and the community of the once unchallenged rulers will be very poorly represented in the 275-member National Assembly. Moderate Sunnis parties scored poorly, with President Ghazi al-Yawar’s Iraqiyun list garnering a paltry five seats in parliament and the Independent Democrats of elder statesman Adnan Pachachi only one.

Meanwhile the main Shiite religious coalition and the ticket formed by the two main Kurdish parties were the undisputed winners of the ballot.

02/13/2005 18:34 GMT - AFP

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