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Adil Abdul-Mahdi: Iraq's Shiite vice president and a leading member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the biggest Shiite party. He served as minister of finance in Ayad Allawi's government. Born in 1942, he is the French-educated son of a respected Shiite cleric who was a Cabinet minister in Iraq's monarchy. Abdul-Mahdi lost the alliance's nomination for the prime minister's position to Ibrahim al-Jaafari by a single vote in February.
Hussain Al-Shahristani: Deputy parliament speaker and a nuclear scientist who was imprisoned in 1979 after refusing to work in Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. He escaped in 1991 and moved to Canada, returning after the fall of Saddam in 2003. Independents within the main Shiite alliance have been pushing for al-Shahristani as a possible compromise candidate because he doesn't belong to the main Shiite parties. Sunni Arabs might find him more acceptable because he has no ties to armed militias. Al-Shahristani told Iraqi television Saturday that he is not seeking the nomination.
Jawad Al-Maliki: A prominent Shiite lawmaker and a leading member of al-Jaafari's Dawa party. He left Iraq in the 1980s and settled in Syria. His real name is Nouri Kamel, according to Dawa members, but he goes by the name Jawad al-Maliki. He is seen as Dawa's favored choice for the position if al-Jaafari steps down. But some critics say he is too sectarian, according to alliance members.
Ali Al-Deeb: A Shiite legislator and member of the Dawa party. Al-Adeeb's name has been suggested if al-Maliki is deemed unacceptable. He holds a Master's degree in psychology. He left Iraq in the 1980s and lived in Iran for most of his time in exile, which could lead to problems with the Americans and British as well as many Sunni Arabs who fear Iranian influence.