| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi Parliament elects a Speaker |
| 2005-04-03 |
| Iraqi politicians have elected a Sunni Arab to be the Speaker of Parliament. In an open ballot, the members of the 275-seat National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to elect Industry Minister Hajem al-Hassani as Speaker. Shiite politician Hussain Shahristani and Kurdish lawmaker Arif Tayfor were elected as deputy speakers. The Shiites and Kurds, who came first and second in the January 30 election, had agreed between them that a member of the once dominant Sunni Arab minority should be Speaker. Around 240 members of the Assembly were present for the vote. The vote took place hours after insurgents mounted a brazen attack on Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, battling US forces for an hour. Forty-four US troops were wounded. The process of forming a government has been drawn out by sharp differences between the Islamist-led Shiite alliance and the more secular Kurds over who should get what Cabinet posts. Parliament's last meeting on March 29 descended into chaos after politicians berated their leaders for not reaching decisions more quickly. Live TV coverage of the event was cut. Next step Iraq's Parliament says it will announce the names of the country's new president, vice presidents and prime minister by Wednesday. The president is expected to be Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. One of the vice presidents will likely be Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite. Senior Iraqi officials have raised concerns that the longer it takes to form a government, the more it will fuel the insurgency by making elected authorities appear indecisive. Once a president and the vice presidents are approved by two-thirds of the Assembly, the Presidential Council will have two weeks to name a prime minister. The prime minister will decide on a Cabinet. In other developments: The Al Qaeda-linked group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for a massive assault on Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. |
| Posted by:God Save The World |