BAGHDAD — Iraq's interim prime minister, a mild-mannered religious scholar accused by critics of lacking charisma and effectiveness, fended off a strong challenge within his coalition Sunday and appears certain to retain his post in the country's first permanent government since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Ibrahim Jafari, who is also a physician and has been leading Iraq's government since April, won his bloc's nomination for prime minister, defeating economist Adel Abdul Mehdi by one vote after weeks of unsuccessful attempts by the United Iraqi Alliance to come up with a consensus candidate.
The 128-member Shiite- dominated bloc is the largest political group in the 275-seat parliament elected Dec. 15. The legislature must still choose a presidential council, which will then approve the prime minister and his Cabinet, a process that probably will take weeks.
"The victory is not that this person or that wins," said Jafari, standing with Mehdi and other alliance leaders at a news conference. "The victory of the United Iraqi Alliance is by its unity and equanimity."
Jafari's nomination solidifies the dominance of the Shiite alliance, which many of its rivals had hoped would fall apart over the leadership battle. It also disappointed his critics, including those who saw his government as ineffective.
The selection could also complicate efforts to negotiate a broad-based government incorporating Iraq's major groups, given the wide perception among Sunnis that the current administration under Jafari has been too close to Shiite militias, too sectarian and has purged Sunnis from middle-level positions in the civil service.
As part of a power-sharing agreement within the Shiite coalition, Jafari's selection also means that the Interior Ministry probably will remain in the hands of Mehdi's party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The party's militia, the Badr Brigade, has been accused of using security forces as a cover for killing Sunni Arabs.
Mehdi has been viewed by some as independent-minded and less tainted by connections with the Badr Brigade, winning him some support among Sunnis.
Generally, however, no great ideological matters divide Jafari and Mehdi. They differ in style and personality more than on political substance, with Mehdi seen as outgoing and direct and Jafari viewed as a pensive intellectual.
