Shiite independent to form Iraq’s government

BAGHDAD— Iraq’s new President Barham Salih has tasked veteran Shiite politician Adel Abdul-Mahdi with forming a new government nearly f i ve months after national elections were held, state TV reported late Tuesday.

Abdul-Mahdi is an independent who previously served as vice president, oil minister and finance minister. He is not allied with either of the two Shiite-led blocs that each claim to have the most support after May’s elections, in which no party won an outright majority.

Parliament elected Salih, a Kurdish politician, to the largely ceremonial role of president earlier Tuesday.

Under an unofficial agreement dating back to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s presidency — a largely ceremonial role — is held by a Kurd, while the prime minister is Shiite and the parliament speaker is Sunni.