Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his fourth attempt Sunday to name an oil minister, nominating before parliament the key ministry's current caretaker Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh.
Ahmadinejad's three previous nominees were shunned over their lack of experience, and the latest candidate appears to be the strongest candidate so far - having held the post on a temporary basis for the past three months and having served as a deputy oil minister prior to that.
His nomination also represents a major compromise by the hard-line president, who has been pushing for a fresh face to purge a ministry he claims has been run by a "mafia" and for Iran's huge oil revenues to be distributed among the poor.
A vote of confidence is expected to take place on December 11, parliament speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel said in a session broadcast live on state radio.
"It looks like a good decision to name someone from within the oil ministry. The atmosphere is more positive," oil consultant Hatef Haeri told AFP.
Majlis deputies rejected Ahmadinejad's first choice on August 29, arguing the nominee lacked experience in a sector which accounts for 80 percent of the country's export revenues.
The president's second nominee was withdrawn ahead of a vote, while the third was rejected a week ago.
"There is no doubt that Vaziri-Hamaneh is the best option so far given his long record in the oil ministry," said Hossein Afarideh, a member of the parliament's influential energy commission.
But the issue many deputies raised was their unease with Ahmadinejad's style, in that the president has apparently refused to consult with parliament before presenting each nominee.
Many MPs did give a frosty reaction when Vaziri-Hamaneh's name was announced, although Afarideh said "the initially negative reaction will not be the final decision of deputies."
"Since some deputies do not consider it good to once again reject the nominee, I think if Vaziri-Hamaneh consults with deputies he would win the confidence vote," said Shokrollah Attarzadeh, another energy commission member.
Deputies have acknowledged the dispute over the post has been damaging to investor confidence as well as the Iran's standing within Opec, where it is the number-two producer.
Iran, estimated to hold 12 percent of world oil reserves, currently produces 4.2 million barrels per day, or 5.2 percent of global production.
The long-running dispute over the minister has also highlighted divisions within the Islamic republic's dominant right-wing camp, a mix of more pragmatic and moderate conservatives and religious hard-liners like Ahmadinejad.
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