Some sources said on Wednesday that Damascus and Tehran have thrown their weight behind Iyad Allawi to unseat Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the March elections.

Led by former Washington favorite Ahmed Chalabi, the Justice and Accountability Commission, a Shiite, scoured the election lists for members with alleged ties to the outlawed Baath Party of Saddam Hussein.

Allawi, the secular Shiite leader of the Iraqiya slate, would be backed as prime minister by Tehran and Damascus, source also told Iraq's al-Sumaria. He was previously prime minister in 2004-05.

The report further adds Allawi sent a delegation to Tehran to discuss his candidacy. Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, who heads the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, is said to be soliciting other political slates to back Allawi over Maliki.

Concern over the influence Tehran has in the Iraqi election process has been expressed by Washington. Chalabi allegedly launched his vetting campaign with the help of his colleagues in Iran.

There was "direct intelligence" to suggest that Chalabi and his backers discussed the Iraqi elections with members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said, U. S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno in Washington last week.

The banned Sunni leader of the National Dialogue Front, Saleh al-Mutlaq, was prompted by the Iranian allegations, to pull his slate out of the parliamentary contest. (With Input from Agencies)