BAGHDAD,
April 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – After weeks of
wrangling, members of the fledging Iraqi legislature elected on
Sunday, April 3, a Sunni Arab as speaker of their National Assembly.
“We
passed the first hurdle,” Hajem Al-Hassani, who served as industry
minister in the Iraqi outgoing government of Ayad Allawi, told
reporters after his election, reported Reuters.
“The
Iraqi people have proven that they can overcome the political crisis
that has plagued the country for the last two months.”
Shiite
Hussain Shahristani, a one-time candidate for the premiership, and
Arif Tayfor, a Kurdish politician, were elected deputy speakers,
Reuters reported.
Some
forty-three lawmakers of the 265-member parliament absented themselves
from the vote.
The
Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which emerged victorious in the January
30 elections, and the Kurdish alliance, which came second, had agreed
that the parliament speaker should be a Sunni.
Interim
Iraqi President Ghazi Al-Yawer was the most prominent candidate for
the post but he withdrew from the race last week.
A
number of UIA members, especially from Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National
Congress, favored Fawaz Al-Jarba, a member of their alliance and a
general in the former Iraqi army, as speaker.
The
majority of Sunnis did not cast ballot in the polls, citing lack of
transparency and fair play under the US occupation.
The
Association of Muslim Scholars, the highest Sunni religious authority
in Iraq, championed the call for election boycott.
The
Islamic Party of Iraq, the main Sunni political party, had quit the
election race also over aggravating insecurity.
Government
Formation
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The new president, vice presidents and prime minister are expected to be named on Wednesday.
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The
National Assembly is expected to announce the names of the country's
new president, two vice presidents and prime minister by Wednesday,
Reuters said.
The
Shiite alliance and the Kurds have agreed that Jalal Talabani, the
leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will become Iraq's
new president while Ibrahim Jaafari, a veteran Shiite politician, will
be the prime minister.
Adel
Abdul Mahdi, a senior UIA leader, is expected to serve as one of
Iraq's two vice presidents, while talks are still under way to select
a Sunni Arab as the second.
Al-Yawar,
Adnan Pachachi, a one-time presidential candidate and a former foreign
minister, and Al-Sharif Ali bin Al-Hussein are strongly nominated for
the post.
Once
a president and deputies are approved by two-thirds of the assembly,
the presidential council will have two weeks to name a prime minister,
who will decide on a cabinet.
The
process of forming a new government has been drawn out by sharp
differences between the Shiite alliance and the Kurds over who should
get what cabinet posts.
After
forming the new line-up, the National Assembly will be charged with
writing a permanent constitution.
If
adopted in a referendum later this year, the constitution would form
the legal basis for another general elections to be held by December,
2005.
