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Iraq assembly elects its first speaker
Iraq's new parliament has elected Sunni Arab candidate Hajim al-Hasani as speaker, ending a political row over who will get the post and making a first step towards forming a government.
Earlier on Sunday, a senior Kurdish official involved in the negotiations said al-Hasani, who is currently the industry minister, would be named speaker. His deputies will be Shia politician Husain al-Shahristani and Kurdish lawmaker Arif Tayfur.
"Hasani is the agreed candidate," interim deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said. Asked if he was going to be speaker, al-Hasani replied: "Yes, God willing."
The official announcement was released later that day, as the 275 assembly members gathered for their third meeting since the election, amid growing frustration among many Iraqis that more progress has not been made since the 30 January vote.
Differences
The process of forming a government has been drawn out by sharp differences between the Shia alliance that won the election and the Kurds who came second, over who should get what in the next cabinet.
Parliament's last meeting on 29 March descended into chaos after politicians attacked their leaders for not reaching decisions more quickly. Live coverage of the event was cut.
While the naming of a speaker is one step towards ending Iraq's political deadlock, the parliament is not expected to go much further on Sunday.
Salih said it was unlikely to name a president and two deputies, a more important landmark in the government's formation, because of disagreements over names.
Political infighting
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.
All those positions are already being worked on, but it is involving intense bargaining and brinkmanship.
As well as differences over the role religion should play in Iraqi society and the issue of federalism in the divided country, the Shia and the Kurds, who came second in the ballot, are at odds over who should get which ministries.
Their stand-off threatens to derail the timetable for drawing up a new constitution, the next major stepping stone, which is due to be drafted by mid-August.
It is also incurring the wrath of Sunni Arabs who are demanding a role in the government despite their poor showing at the polls - only 17 of the 275 parliamentarians are Sunni Arabs, the result of most Sunnis boycotting the vote.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3BB6FF05-109D-4A43-81AE-D49EB03F851C.htm
Iraqi parliament elects speaker
Iraq's divided interim parliament has finally elected a speaker, clearing a major political hurdle on the way to forming a government.
Casting secret ballots, the members chose Hajim al-Hassani, a Sunni Arab, as the speaker and picked a Shia Muslim and a Kurd as his deputies.
More than two months have passed since Iraqis elected the national assembly.
A session of the chamber fell apart on Tuesday as members argued over a suitable Sunni candidate.
Correspondents say the choice of a Sunni is aimed at reaching out to Iraq's second-largest community, which has been largely alienated since the US-led invasion.
The assembly is due to reconvene on Wednesday when it is expected to name a new president, tipped to be Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani.
US critic
Mr Hassani, the current industry minister, was an outspoken critic of the recent US-led military offensive against militants in Falluja.
He previously declined the post, saying he would only serve as speaker as a last resort.
"The Iraqi people have proven that they can overcome the political crisis that has plagued the country for the last two months," he told reporters after his election.
The minister received the largest share of votes cast on Sunday: 215 to 157 for his nearest rival, Hussain al-Shahristani, a Shia Muslim former nuclear scientist.
Mr Shahristani became a deputy speaker along with Kurdish candidate Aref Taifour, who won 96 votes, according to figures obtained by the Associated Press news agency.
Once a president and deputy presidents are chosen, they will have two weeks to form a government.
The assembly itself will have the job of writing a new constitution by mid-August which will pave the way for new elections and permanent state institutions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4405643.stm
BAGHDAD, April3 , 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – After weeks of wrangling, members of the fledging Iraqi legislature elected on Sunday, April3 , 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 the265 -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
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 .
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2005-04/03/article02.shtml
"Hasani is the agreed candidate," interim deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said. Asked if he was going to be speaker, al-Hasani replied: "Yes, God willing."
The official announcement was released later that day, as the 275 assembly members gathered for their third meeting since the election, amid growing frustration among many Iraqis that more progress has not been made since the 30 January vote.
Differences
The process of forming a government has been drawn out by sharp differences between the Shia alliance that won the election and the Kurds who came second, over who should get what in the next cabinet.
Parliament's last meeting on 29 March descended into chaos after politicians attacked their leaders for not reaching decisions more quickly. Live coverage of the event was cut.
While the naming of a speaker is one step towards ending Iraq's political deadlock, the parliament is not expected to go much further on Sunday.
Salih said it was unlikely to name a president and two deputies, a more important landmark in the government's formation, because of disagreements over names.
Political infighting
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.
All those positions are already being worked on, but it is involving intense bargaining and brinkmanship.
As well as differences over the role religion should play in Iraqi society and the issue of federalism in the divided country, the Shia and the Kurds, who came second in the ballot, are at odds over who should get which ministries.
Their stand-off threatens to derail the timetable for drawing up a new constitution, the next major stepping stone, which is due to be drafted by mid-August.
It is also incurring the wrath of Sunni Arabs who are demanding a role in the government despite their poor showing at the polls - only 17 of the 275 parliamentarians are Sunni Arabs, the result of most Sunnis boycotting the vote.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3BB6FF05-109D-4A43-81AE-D49EB03F851C.htm
Iraqi parliament elects speaker
Iraq's divided interim parliament has finally elected a speaker, clearing a major political hurdle on the way to forming a government.
Casting secret ballots, the members chose Hajim al-Hassani, a Sunni Arab, as the speaker and picked a Shia Muslim and a Kurd as his deputies.
More than two months have passed since Iraqis elected the national assembly.
A session of the chamber fell apart on Tuesday as members argued over a suitable Sunni candidate.
Correspondents say the choice of a Sunni is aimed at reaching out to Iraq's second-largest community, which has been largely alienated since the US-led invasion.
The assembly is due to reconvene on Wednesday when it is expected to name a new president, tipped to be Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani.
US critic
Mr Hassani, the current industry minister, was an outspoken critic of the recent US-led military offensive against militants in Falluja.
He previously declined the post, saying he would only serve as speaker as a last resort.
"The Iraqi people have proven that they can overcome the political crisis that has plagued the country for the last two months," he told reporters after his election.
The minister received the largest share of votes cast on Sunday: 215 to 157 for his nearest rival, Hussain al-Shahristani, a Shia Muslim former nuclear scientist.
Mr Shahristani became a deputy speaker along with Kurdish candidate Aref Taifour, who won 96 votes, according to figures obtained by the Associated Press news agency.
Once a president and deputy presidents are chosen, they will have two weeks to form a government.
The assembly itself will have the job of writing a new constitution by mid-August which will pave the way for new elections and permanent state institutions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4405643.stm
BAGHDAD, April3 , 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – After weeks of wrangling, members of the fledging Iraqi legislature elected on Sunday, April3 , 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 the265 -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
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 .
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2005-04/03/article02.shtml
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The channel quoted a member of the Shiite bloc in parliament, Hammam Hammoudi, as saying the legislators resigned either for security reasons or to protest their exclusion from the government being formed.
He said the National Assembly would discuss finding others to replace them.
The announcement came shortly after the first elected parliament in Iraq in more than 50 years chose an Arab Sunni speaker, Hajem al-Hosni, in addition to Shiite and Kurdish deputy speakers.
Al-Hosni received 215 votes out of 240 attending the 275-seat National Assembly in a secret ballot, ending a deadlock in which parliament had until Sunday failed to agree on a speaker.
Addressing parliament after his election, al-Hosni said the National Assembly's "only allegiance should be to the homeland, not to a specific sect," urging to work towards providing security and services for the Iraqi people.
He warned the people would monitor the performance of the parliament and "would choose others if you failed in your tasks."
The National Assembly, elected in January, is tasked with forming a government and writing a new constitution.
http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20050403-050536-8413r.htm