BAGHDAD, May 31 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The U.S. occupation forces Monday, May 31, ruled out the two main Sunni Muslim contenders, Adnan Pachachi and Ghazi al-Yawar, in the race to become Iraq's first post-Saddam president, a senior occupation official said.

"It is completely fabricated that it is a toss up between Yawar and Pachachi," the official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

"We are looking for the president and two-thirds of the new ministers to be non-Governing Council members," he said referring to Iraq's U.S.-installed interim leadership.

He accused council members of "hijacking" the process of shaping the transitional government that is to take over from the U.s.-led occupation forces by June 30.

"They are hijacking the process as a lot of them want to keep the good jobs that they have now," he said.

"The coalition recognizes that the Iraqi people expect to see new faces in the new government."

He said that the U.S.-led occupation authority had not wanted council member Iyad Allawi, whose nomination as Prime Minister was leaked Friday, but "had him in mind for another post in the new government."

"This is why we are keeping the process under wraps now going forward."

He said the occupation authority was busy contacting figures throughout Iraq that have been nominated for the Presidency and the other posts and was hoping to unveil the names as early as Tuesday, June 1.

Wrangle

This came a few hours after the selection of Iraq's President was delayed till Tuesday after the council members were locked in a bitter wrangle with the "pushy" American occupation forces over the two rivals.

The postponement has also opened up the possibility that the U.S. forces and United Nations might propose alternative candidates to break the stalemate.

One Iraqi source said rumors were rife that U.S. officials wanted to nominate a former Republican Guard officer and Baathist.

Asked about a possible third candidate, a U.N. spokesman said it "would not be helpful" to comment on the process while it was still ongoing.

The Governing Council backs Yawar for the Sunni Muslim ceremonial head of state. U.S. overseer Paul Bremer and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi endorse Pachachi.

"Members feel there is a need for more consultation. Of course people want to get this out of the way," Governing Council spokesman Hamid Al-Kifaey said, acknowledging an element of "frustration" over the foot-dragging.

Surprised

Iraqi officials have accused Bremer of manipulating the decision-making process at the expense of the United Nations and the Governing Council.

Council members say they are surprised that the Americans are so desperate for Pachachi at the expense of Yawar, also a Western-educated Sunni moderate, and thought to command a greater popular following than the elderly Pachachi.

"To be honest, everyone feels excluded. The Governing Council feels excluded... It seems as though the coalition is in charge," said Sami Al-Askari, council representative for Shiite member Mohammed Bahr al-Ulum.

But he said the body would not cave in to U.S. demands for Pachachi, raising the possibility of heated discussions when they finally resume early Tuesday.

"The council will choose Yawar. The majority is with Yawar," he said.

U.S. military spokesman Dan Senor, however, denied any American interference.

Some confusion has also surrounded the role of the United Nations, which the U.S. occupation authority has repeatedly said is leading the process.

The Governing Council has been opposed to Brahimi's apparent preferences for technocrats to play a leading role in the interim, unelected government, insisting that only political clout can bind the fractured country together.

Brahimi complained in an interview with Time magazine that pushy Americans, foot-dragging Iraqis and a lack of security made his job of assembling an interim Iraqi government difficult.

The U.N. envoy did not attend Sunday's meeting. But a spokesman said the U.N. electoral team had been there.

Tribal Magnate, Elder Statesman

Moderate Sunni Muslims and Iraqi exiles with strong ties to Washington, both Al-Yawar and Pachachi are expected to compete neck and neck in the race. 

Strange then, that there should be so much haggling over men with similar attributes for a job stripped of its Saddam-era powers and whittled down to a mainly ceremonial role, according to AFP.

A tribal magnate and businessman, at only 46, Yawar is distinctive for his rather chubby face and characteristic smile. But his traditional flowing white tribal dress and keffieh belie his Western connections and education.

After studying engineering at George Washington University, he moved to Saudi Arabia where he opened a prosperous telecommunications business.

The occupation of the oil-rich country and the fall of former President Saddam Hussein changed his plans.

He returned to Iraq at the behest of his uncle after Saddam fell in April last year and became a member of the Governing Council, of which he was appointed President after his predecessor Ezzedine Salim was killed in a bombing on May 17.

From the multi-ethnic northern city of Mosul, Yawar has promoted his inter-sectarian ties, saying he has close relations to Kurds and that his mother taught him to respect the Shiites as well as Sunni tradition, and Christianity.

At 81, Pachachi is nearly twice Yawar's age and draws on a wealth of experience as the scion of long-established political family and a leading light in the world of Iraqi expatriates forced abroad under Saddam.

His father, uncle and father-in-law were all Prime Ministers during the time of the British-installed monarchy after World War One.

Before being forced into exile in 1971, three years after the Baathist coup, he was Iraqi representative to the United Nations and Foreign Minister from 1966 to 1967.

Also educated in Washington, at the elite Georgetown University, where he received a PhD in political science, Pachachi has close ties to the U.S. State Department.

As Washington moved towards its spring invasion of Iraq in 2003, Pachachi made a swift return to political life, after announcing his retirement in the late 1990s.

Even before tanks rolled across the border, Pachachi called for the United Nations to take a prominent role in handling the country once Saddam was removed, and warned against a lengthy occupation period.

He returned to Baghdad last year and was given a seat on the Governing Council, of which he was President for January.