Nuri al-Maliki was officially named as a Prime Minister to a second term on Thursday, giving him 30 days to form a cabinet after an eight-month deadlock following elections.

President Jalal Talabani named Maliki prime minister-designate at a ceremony at the Al-Salam presidential palace in Baghdad, images from state broadcaster Al-Iraqiya showed.
The move signals an end to the protracted political battle between Iraq's factions, which have all formed committees to negotiate their share of ministries and cabinet positions.

Cabinet positions will be apportioned via a points-based system, where each bloc will be assigned points based on its success in the March 7 elections, and each ministry and government post will cost a set number of points depending on its importance.
Under Iraq's constitution, Talabani was allowed 15 days to appoint a prime minister following his re-election by MPs on November 11.

He had earlier been expected to name Maliki as premier last Sunday, immediately after the holiday of Eid al-Adha, but delayed the decision to give the incumbent more time to negotiate ministerial posts.