Baghdad , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani officially named Nuri al-Maliki to a second term as prime minister in a televised ceremony Thursday . Talabani gave a speech and handed a letter to the prime minister , asking him to form a new government after a months-long political stalemate that drew fears of a resurgence in sectarian and insurgent violence . Al-Maliki has 30 days to work with rival factions and form a government or face the prospect of losing the president 's nomination . `` I know very well , as do you , that the task I have been designated with is not an easy one , especially with Iraq 's current circumstances , '' al-Maliki said . `` So I urge the great Iraqi people ... and my brothers the politicians to work on getting past all the disputes that had dominated the past stages . '' Al-Maliki 's nomination came after months of delicate power-sharing negotiations within Iraq 's fledgling democracy . Earlier this month , former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi offered a grim prediction for the future of Iraq 's government after a dramatic walkout staged by Sunni lawmakers in the Iraqiya bloc . `` We think the concept of power-sharing is dead now , '' the secular Shiite said . `` It 's finished . '' The Iraqiya bloc , led by Allawi , had threatened to shun negotiations on sharing power with Kurds and Shiites . But just days after the walkout , the principal political blocs agreed to establish a committee to negotiate aspects of the deal . Haidar al-Mullah , an Iraqiya member of parliament , said the walk-out was a `` misunderstanding . '' His bloc will take a `` real part '' in the government , he said , and will play the role of `` positive opposition '' by monitoring the performance of the government . Mahmoud Othman , an Iraqi Kurdish lawmaker , said mediation efforts by Kurdish officials , Americans and the Arab League began after the walkout . President Obama and other U.S. officials praised the new power-sharing agreement . `` There are still challenges to overcome , but all indications are that the government will be representative , inclusive and reflect the will of the Iraqi people who cast their ballots in the last election , '' Obama said at the G-20 summit in Seoul , South Korea this month . Under the proposed deal , the three major governmental positions were to be filled by three members of the country 's largest ethnic groups : the Shiites , the Kurds and the Sunnis . The deal also intended to create a powerful new office -- expected to be headed by Allawi , al-Maliki 's rival -- that would serve to check the new prime minister 's influence . But Allawi rejected the office , saying he would no longer take up the position . `` I personally have made up my mind . I will not be a part of this theater , '' Allawi said . CNN 's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .
Iraqi President Al-Maliki named Nuri al-Maliki to a second term as prime minister . Jalal Talabani has months to work with rival factions and form a new government . His nomination comes after 30 days of delicate power-sharing negotiations .