Iraqi race for the top heats up after withdrawal
Abdul Mahdi's removal leaves the United Iraqi Alliance with two other contenders; interim vice president Ibrahim al-Jaafari and former Pentagon favourite Ahmed Chalabi.
Current interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party came a distant third in election, and any role he would have in the new government was not yet clear, since the Shi'ite alliance seems determined to place one of its own in the powerful post.