Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a prominent Shiite Arab, is expected to be named as Iraq’s prime minister today, taking the most powerful post in the country’s first democratically-elected government in 50 years and opening the way to picking a Cabinet.

Iraq’s newly-elected parliament chose Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as its new interim president today, reaching out to the nation’s long-repressed Kurdish minority and taking one of the final steps toward forming Iraq’s first democratically elected government in 50 years.

Talks on who would get what in Iraq’s newly-elected National Assembly were underway today but the clergy-backed Shiites, whose winning margin was smaller than they expected, may now have to compromise more than anticipated.

Clergy-backed Shiites and independence-minded Kurds swept to victory in Iraq’s elections, according to final results released tonight.