BAGHDAD—Iraqi lawmakers took the first steps toward implementing a power-sharing agreement to establish a coalition government, but a dispute in parliament late Thursday underscored the fragility of the deal.
The agreement would see Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, keep his position, give a new role to his chief rival, Ayad Allawi, who led a secular bloc that represents Iraq's Sunnis, and keep the presidency in the hands of Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani.
The convoluted and diffuse structure of the proposed deal—including the creation a new, federal post with uncertain power—risks a unwieldy and fragmented government, with various branches beholden to competing sects.
Late Thursday, after lawmakers elected a speaker of parliament representing Mr. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc, a disagreement emerged over the bloc's demands, and Iraqiya lawmakers walked out before the body proceeded to elect Mr. Talabani.
Mr. Allawi, however, said the agreement was still in play. "Of course this is not the end, this is the beginning," he said as he left parliament.
The agreement ended a political stalemate that began in March with parliamentary elections in which no one bloc won enough seats to claim a majority.
Mr. Allawi and Iraqiya decided to accept a role in the power-sharing agreement after a phone call Thursday morning from U.S. President Barack Obama to Mr. Allawi, according to two officials familiar with the situation.
In an agreement hammered out late Wednesday, Mr. Allawi, a former prime minister, had been promised a position as chairman of a new advisory council. But he was reluctant to approve the deal because it was unclear how significant the roles were that had been reserved for him and his allies.
Iraqiya officials said they would pull out of the deal after one month if lawmakers hadn't finalized the responsibilities of the advisory council and the power of its chairman—or made progress on a number of other key Iraqiya policy platforms.
Among those demands was the release of Sunni leaders arrested on vague accusations of terrorism and for supporting former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Iraqiya is hoping it won't be forced to review the decision of participation [in the power-sharing agreement] if [other parties] contradict the commitments," said Haider al-Mullah, a leading Iraqiya member.
On Thursday night, opposing lawmakers refused to vote on the Iraqiya demands, arguing the list wasn't part of the power-sharing deal—and prompting the walkout by Iraqiya lawmakers. Iraqiya was the narrow winner of the March elections but faced the possibility of being squeezed out of prominent government jobs as Mr. Maliki gained support from different blocs.
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Associated Press
Former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi, pictured on April 6, 2010, decided to accept a role in the power-sharing agreement.
Political negotiations this week between Mr. Maliki's State of Law alliance, Iraqiya and the powerful Kurdish Alliance ended late Wednesday with the promise of Iraqiya receiving the post of parliamentary speaker as well as the chairmanship of a new advisory council.
The council was suggested by the Obama administration as an apparent counterweight to Mr. Maliki and the Shiite-led government that he has presided over for the past four years.
However, the new council, known as the National Council on Higher Policy, has yet to be written into law, and its functions and powers remain unknown.
That ambiguity left some in Iraqiya concerned the new council head would occupy a purely ceremonial position.
Mr. Mullah, the leading Iraqiya member, said Thursday that Mr. Allawi had accepted the post of council chairman.
It wasn't clear when parliament would discuss and approve the legal mechanism to create the new council and its responsibilities.
If the deal holds, Washington will have succeeded in one of its main aims: empowering Iraq's Sunni minority with a significant stake in the government. That's a move that U.S. officials hope will take the wind out of Sunni-backed insurgent groups.
At the same time, Washington has had to accept a likely prominent role for some of its biggest Iranian-backed foes in the new government, including the anti-U.S. firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Mr. Sadr's political followers did well in March polls and, last month, joined forces with Mr. Maliki.
Some Iraqi analysts don't see a full government emerging until after the new year, although the parliamentary vote Thursday allows Mr. Maliki to comfortably continue in a caretaker role.
The power-sharing deal also empowers Iraq's Kurdish minority, which served as kingmaker during the last few months of government-formation talks.
By backing Mr. Maliki, the Kurds are likely to expect big concessions in disputes with the federal government involving contested territory in northern Iraq and oil and natural-gas rights.
The Kurds were jubilant about the deal they had struck so far to retain the country's presidency.
"Each one of us got some of his rights and what he deserves," said Masoud Barzani, the president of the northern Kurdish region and a key mediator between Messrs. Maliki and Allawi since the election.
—Chip Cummins
contributed to this article.
Write to Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com
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