Iraqis pick new PM-designate after weeks of political logjam

BAGHDAD — Former communications minister Mohammed Allawi was named prime ministerdesignate by rival Iraqi factions Saturday. The choice comes as the country weathers anti-government protests and the threat of being ensnared by festering U.S.-Iran tensions.

The selection of Allawi to replace outgoing Prime Minister Adel AbdulMahdi was the product of back-room talks over months between rival parties.

In Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Iraq’s fourmonth anti-government protest movement, demonstrators rejected Allawi’s candidacy. But many feared they would clash with followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada alSadr, who recently reversed a decision to withdraw support from the protest movement.