Romania's president says he will not nominate as prime minister an economist who could have become the country's first female Muslim premier.

President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday said he had "carefully weighed the arguments for and against" and decided not to nominate Sevil Shhaideh, 52, a relative political novice, to the post of prime minister.

Iohannis called on the Social Democratic Party, winners of the Dec. 11 elections, which put her name forward last week, to nominate someone else for premier.

He did not say why he would not name Shhaideh, criticized for lacking sufficient political experience. She briefly served as regional development minister in 2015.

Social Democrat chairman Liviu Dragnea is unable to become prime minister because he was convicted this year of election fraud.