Iraq assembly puts democracy to the test
Iraq puts its fragile democracy to the test today, convening its first freely elected National Assembly in recent history after last-minute bargaining over Sunni Arab candidates to head the parliament.
Shiite Muslim officials said they failed to reach final agreement in talks with the Kurds – who are mostly Sunni Muslim but secular – and the Sunni Arabs. But those failures were not enough to prevent the 275-member National Assembly from preparing to meet today for the first time since the January 30 elections.
“It will be a historic event because the Iraqi people will witness an elected parliament for the first time in their lives,” said Ali al-Dabagh, a member of the Shiite clergy-dominated United Iraqi Alliance, which won the most seats in the elections.
Al-Dabagh added that Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni Arab politicians would meet after the deputies are sworn in “to finalise things. We need two to three days to announce an agreement.”
The Shiite alliance won 140 seats in the National Assembly, but needs the Kurds’ 75 seats to assemble the two-thirds majority required to elect a president, who will then nominate the prime minister.
The assembly was to start with speeches from members of the interim government, followed by political party leaders and end with a swearing-in ceremony, officials said, adding that the parliament could meet over a number of days.
Shiite talks with Sunni Arabs focused on naming a parliament speaker, and it remained unclear if they would present a candidate today. Although the speaker’s role is mostly restricted to presiding over the assembly and moderating discussions, the job has a great deal of visibility.
Sunni Arabs are believed to make up the core of the insurgency, and including them in the political process is seen as a way to isolate the militants.
Berlusconi’s remarks represented the first time a country has connected a troop withdrawal to the ability of Iraqis to take control over their security.
“Starting with the month of September, we would like to proceed with a gradual reduction of our soldiers,” Berlusconi said on a state TV talk show that lasted into early Wednesday.
US presidential spokesman Scott McClellan responded: ”We certainly appreciate the contributions of the Italians. They have served and sacrificed alongside Iraqis and alongside other coalition forces.”
| Related Stories: |
|
