Iraq's outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Wednesday his list teamed up with other lists to form a coalition to rival the winning Shiite alliance for premiership in anew government.

"I would like to announce the formation of a national democratic coalition to lead the democratic process which all Iraqis are looking for," national security advisor Qassem Dawoud told a joint press conference with Allawi in Baghdad.

"There are other lists and other brothers in smaller lists which won the elections and we are working with some of those lists to form a national Iraqi democratic coalition which believes in Iraq and its principles," Allawi told reporters.

Allawi, flanked by two ministers who are members of his Iraqi List, said he would provide more details later.

The United Iraqi Alliance nominated Ibrahim Jaafari, a religious Shiite with close links to Iran, as its candidate for premiership.

Allawi's new coalition took 40 seats in the elections, while the United Iraqi Alliance took 140 seats in the 275-member National Assembly. The Kurdish Alliance came as the second with 75 seats.

Nine other smaller lists also won seats in the assembly, including the list of outgoing President Ghazi al-Yawar with five seats.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2005)