"The National Alliance has named Haidar al-Abadi as its candidate for prime minister," a lawmaker said. Several other sources in parliament confirmed the decision.

The man who could become Iraq's next prime minister is the current first deputy speaker of parliament. He was born in Baghdad in 1952 and holds a PhD from the University of Manchester.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum has to ask the nominee of parliament's largest bloc to form a government, a move that has been delayed by spiraling foreign-backed crisis and intense political wrangling.

There has been a long-standing dispute as to which of Maliki's own State of Law coalition and the broader National Alliance could constitutionally be considered the largest bloc.

NJF/NJF