BAGHDAD, May 31: Days of tense squabbling over the nomination of a new Iraqi president took an unexpected twist on Monday as the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority sought to freeze out the two main contenders and a third name cropped up.

A senior official said the two main Sunni contenders, Adnan Pachachi and Ghazi al Yawar, had been ruled out for the largely ceremonial post. "It is completely fabricated that it is a toss-up between Yawar and Pachachi," said the official.

"We are looking for the president and two-thirds of the new ministers to be non-Governing Council members," he said, referring to Iraq's US-installed interim leadership. One Governing Council source said Saad al Janabi, a former Republican Guard official and associate of some of Saddam Hussein's relatives who moved to the United States in 1995, was being mooted as a possible president.

"Yesterday, ambassador Bremer said there was another candidate, but no one took him seriously," said Sami el Askari, a representative of Shia council member Mohammed Bahr al Ulum.

Within two weeks of the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, Mr Janabi had returned to Baghdad and created his own political faction, the Iraqi Republican Group, in an effort to muscle in on Iraq's political landscape.

But Governing Council spokesman Hamid al Kifaey said he was not aware that any third candidate had come forward officially. "I am not aware of any candidate other than Adnan Pachachi and Ghazi al Yawar. I know that anyone can stand and apply for the job of president. But as of yet, there has been nobody," he said.

Asked if he was aware of the CPA's preference for someone from outside the council, he said: "Absolutely not. This is not my understanding." The CPA official accused council members of "hijacking" the process of shaping the transitional government.

"They are hijacking the process as a lot of them want to keep the good jobs that they have now," he said. "The coalition recognizes that the Iraqi people expect to see new faces in the new government." An Iraqi source participating in the talks agreed with the assessment.

"The Americans are not stupid. They are aware that the credibility of the Governing Council has totally dwindled for months and they want to avoid the future cabinet being linked to the old executive at all costs," he said. -AFP