One of the favourites in the race to appoint a new Iraqi premier today pledged to engage all communities within the divided nation in the creation of a new parliament.

Weeks of painstaking negotiation lie ahead to construct a peaceful and productive administration after the nation's long-suppressed Shias dominated the elections, with nearly half of the vote - but failed to secure a clear majority.

A coalition of Shia parties, led by the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, will form the backbone of the new parliament after gaining 48 per cent of the 8.5 million votes in the first democratic elections for half a century.

But in order to produce a functioning majority it will need to heal rifts with an alliance of the two main Kurdish parties, who came second with 25 per cent, and Iyad Allawi, the interim Prime Minister favoured by Washington, who came in a distant third with around 14 per cent.

Ahmad Chalabi, who commands one of the largest blocs within the Shia United Iraqi Alliance, said that he wanted all Iraqis represented in the new National Assembly.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme he said that bringing in the Sunni community, which for decades has played the role of the nation's ruling class, was central to the foundations of a secure political future.

He said: "We have no designs to exclude the Sunni community.

"On the contrary, we want them to be full partners in the drafting of the constitution because the constitution is a document that will unite Iraq and it will not be drafted on the basis of a sectarian majority or an ethnic majority.

"It will have to be done by all the communities of Iraq working together, because it is the document that will put an end to sectarianism in Iraq."

Dr Chalabi, a veteran exiled by Saddam, was initially a favourite of the US administration to rule the new Iraq, but relations cooled following the military invasion, amid claims that he was passing secrets to Iran. He said today that things had improved between himself and Washington.

He said: "A dialogue has been restored between the US administration and myself. This will develop as events unfold."

He added: “None of the candidates, the parties, have anywhere near a majority and each one of them will have to build a coalition in order to win.

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