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Iraqi Parliament Adjourns in Disarray
Government Fails to Form Two Months After Elections
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
03/29/05 "Washington
Post" - - Iraq's parliament met and adjourned Tuesday in disarray, failing to fill the job of speaker necessary for it to begin substantive deliberations.
The failure leaves the country without new leadership two full months after its historic democratic election.
The situation was yet another complication of attempts to carefully balance the distribution of high offices among Iraq's main ethnic and religious blocs.
The job of speaker is supposed to go to a Sunni Muslim politician in an effort to help reconcile the minority Sunni population to participation in a government led by a coalition of Shiites and Kurds.
But a leading Sunni politician, Ghazi Yawar, president of the interim Iraqi government, abruptly withdrew his candidacy for speaker on Monday, leaving the assembly scrambling for another suitable Sunni hours before the meeting.
Shiite and Kurdish leaders see an inclusive government as the only way to stop a two-year-old insurgency led by Sunnis, the third major ethnic group in the country. Sunnis dominated Iraq under the government of Saddam Hussein. Many boycotted the Jan. 30 elections that were Iraq's first democratic vote in more than a half-century, and Shiites and Kurds have had trouble since then lining up Sunni candidates for their coalition.
Yawar, tapped for the speakership weeks ago, said through aides Monday that he was no longer interested in the job. Instead, he was willing to take a position on a council that will select Iraq's prime minister, politicians said.
Government officials acknowledge the risk to morale and stability if the Shiite, Kurd and Sunni factions remain unable to close a deal on a government.
The assembly adjourned until the weekend after the meeting, most of which was held behind closed doors after reporters were told to leave amid the bickering and a television feed was cut off.
Hussein Sadr, a Shiite cleric and member of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's coalition, said the parliament speaker likely would be chosen Sunday, giving Sunni Arab lawmakers time to come up with a candidate, the Associated Press reported.
"We saw that things were confused today, so we gave them a last chance," Sadr said. "We expect the Sunni Arab brothers to nominate their candidate. Otherwise, we will vote on a candidate on Sunday."
Fred Barbash reported from Washington.
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