Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the March election, officially ruling that Iyad Allawi's Iraqiyya party won by a narrow margin.
The ruling clears the way for further negotiations between parties trying to form a coalition government.
The election in March was inconclusive, with no party winning a clear majority in the 325-seat parliament.
If legal political maneuvering leads to Allawi leading a coalition to replace Maliki as the prime minister, this will be historic for the region, which could yet have ripples far beyond Iraq's borders.
