Despite the refusal of the head of the U.S. administration in Iraq, retired general Jay Garner, to recognize Zubeidi, he said he would remain in power because he had been elected, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).

"I will continue the management of Baghdad affairs. We represent the administration of our city and it is the people of Iraq who elected us," Zubeidi told Al-Jazeera television. "We are not a government... but a civil administration," he added.

The new U.S. administration of post-war Iraq led by Jay Garner Monday dismissed the claims of the two men who have appointed themselves as the new leaders in the Iraqi capital.

"There are a lot of de facto leaders. I don't know who they are but our goal is to start a process whereby the Iraqi people elect their own leaders," said Garner, who arrived early Monday in Baghdad.

"We think the playing field is level. We haven't appointed anyone or recognized anyone," he told reporters.

Mohammed Mohsen Zubeidi, a long-time opponent in exile of ousted president Saddam Hussein, last week announced he was the new "governor" of Baghdad, with Jawdat al-Obeidi as his deputy.

"American President George W. Bush said himself several times that it is up to the Iraqi people themselves to choose their representatives," Zubeidi said.

Zubeidi last week announced he was elected the new governor of Baghdad by tribal and religious officials and with U.S. consent.

However, the U.S. Marine Corps said the following day that no appointments of Iraqis had been made or sanctioned to lead this country's civil administration in the aftermath of the occupation.

Zubeidi has since announced the formation of 22 committees to run the capital with defense and foreign affairs among their responsibilities.

He had earlier claimed he was the head of the new Baghdad government and that Obeidi was now mayor of the Iraqi capital.

Asked about Zubeidi, Barbara Bodine - the new coordinator for central Iraq - said: "We don't really know much about him except that he's declared himself mayor. We don't recognize him.

"There hasn't been a process of selection. Once there's a process, then whomever," she said.

Zubeidi said last week that he was holding daily meetings with U.S. military officials at the Marines headquarters in the Palestine Hotel.

Bodine also said that Obeidi would not represent Iraq at this week's meeting of the OPEC oil cartel.