Iraq's political rivals reached a breakthrough power-sharing deal in which Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, retains the premiership. The government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh said this in Baghdad yesterday, exactly eight months after the inconclusive elections. He said, an agreement was reached among the political parties in which the prime minister will stay on, and the Iraqiya party will choose its candidate for parliament speaker. The agreement was confirmed by former premier Iyad Allawi's Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, which won the most seats in the March 7 legislative election but fell short of a parliamentary majority.