Baghdad - Iraq's parliament was preparing Thursday to vote on a controversial security pact to determine the future of US troops in Iraq after the Tawafuq Coalition and the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue announced their support for the deal, al-Arabiya television reported.

The Tawafuq Coalition, which backs the pact, holds 44 seats in the 275-member parliament, while the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue has 11 seats.

Deputy speaker of parliament Khaled al-Attiyah said "the agreement will pass by the greater majority and I congratulate the Iraqi people for this great achievement."

The main Shiite governing alliance with 130 seats supports the deal, as do Kurdish parties with their 53 seats. Combined, they have more than the necessary majority of
138 votes to pass the accord.

However, Iraq's government agreed on Wednesday to delay voting for one day in hopes of winning more votes because it wants a broad agreement rather than just the simple majority.

Meanwhile, Sadrists who are loyal to the anti-US Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and who hold 30 seats are the most vocal critics of the deal, along with Shiite Fadhila party with its 15 seats.

Supporters of al-Sadr rejected the agreement outright, saying it represented an "extension of the occupation."

Under the security agreement, US troops would withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of June, 2009 and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011. (dpa)