Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has formally asked Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to form a new government.

伊拉克总统贾拉勒·塔拉巴尼正式要求总理贾瓦德·马利基重组一个新政府。

The move gives Mr Maliki 30 days in which to negotiate yet more potential hurdles¹ as he hands out ministerial portfolios²（档案，文件夹） to all political factions³.

He called on Iraqis to turn over a new page and forget their differences.

The announcement is part of a power-sharing agreement ending a world record eight months of political deadlock⁵ since March's inconclusive（不确定的，无结果的） elections.

"I charge you ... Nouri Maliki to form the new government, which we hope will be a real national partnership⁶ government which will not exclude（排除，排斥） any faction⁴（派别，内讧） ," President Jalal Talabani said at a ceremony at the al-Salam presidential palace in Baghdad.

This is one more step along the tortuous⁷（扭曲的，弯曲的） road to a new government, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in the Iraqi capital.

After more than eight months of limbo⁸（监狱） , squabbling（口角，大声争吵） and back-room negotiations⁹, a deal was finally struck two weeks ago to allow Mr Maliki to remain in his post.

He is now tasked with putting together a government in 30 days.

Allawi fear

Accepting the nomination¹⁰, Mr Maliki said he was aware the responsibility was "not an easy task".

"I am addressing the great Iraqi people, all its religions, sects¹¹ and nationalities, and our brothers the politicians, about the necessity to work to overcome the disputes from the past, to put them behind us and to open a new page," he said.

The new government is expected to include all the major factions, including the Kurds, Shia and Sunni Arabs.

It should also include Iyad Allawi's Sunni-backed al-Iraqiyya bloc¹², which won two more seats in parliament than Mr Maliki's largely State of Law coalition¹³, but lost out after the prime minister formed the National Alliance with supporters of the radical¹⁴ Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr.

But there are fears that the former prime minister could withdraw from the process if he feels he is being sidelined.

Such a move would be a setback¹⁵ for reconciliation¹⁶（和解，调和） , just one year before the US is scheduled to withdraw the last of its troops from Iraq, our correspondent says.

The road ahead is littered with potential pitfalls¹⁷（陷阱，诱惑） , and dividing up ministries¹⁸ among Iraq's notoriously fractious parties and factions will not be easy, he adds.