UPI, Baghdad, June 23, 2010 — There is no legitimate reason why Iyad Allawi cannot be appointed the next prime minister of Iraq, a member of his Iraqiya slate announced.

Allawi, a former interim prime minister, led his secular Iraqiya slate to a narrow victory in March 7 elections, though none of the coalitions on the ballot secured the majority needed to unilaterally form a new government.

Members of the Iraqiya list had several meetings with rivals in the State of Law slate of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form a new government. A grand Shiite bloc formed by State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance, meanwhile, is four seats short of the 163-seat majority.

None of the parties has agreed on a candidate for prime minister, however.

Osama al-Nujaifi, a leading figure in Iraqiya, told the Iraqi analytical Web site Niqash that Maliki offered his party whatever it wanted in exchange for the top position in the government.

’We have said that post is ours as the winning list,’ he said.

On the so-called grand Shiite National Alliance, Nujaifi said the slate was illegal and existed only in the media. He said that apart from deep divisions within the alliance, the coalition was illegal because it was announced after the election.

’There are deep differences between the two parties and we believe that they will be unable to agree on certain policy issues and on a joint choice for the post of prime minister,’ he said.