- Title: IRAQ: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS HAJEM AL-HASSANI AS SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT
- Date: 5th April 2005
- Summary: (BN11) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (APRIL 3, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 2. (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) DHARI AL- FIADH, CHAIRMAN OF THE SESSION, OPENING THE THIRD SESSION, SAYING: "We are meeting today to choose the speaker of the National Assembly and his two deputies" 0.16 3. SLV MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SITTING DOWN; BOARD SHOWING NAMES OF THOSE NOMINATED FOR SPEAKER AND TWO DEPUTY SPEAKERS; VOTING PAPERS BEING DISTRIBUTED; MEMBERS VOTING; MEMBERS PUTTING VOTES IN BALLOT BOX; MV ADMINISTRATORS SORTING BALLOTS (12 SHOTS) 1.22 4. SLV /MV FOAD MASUM OF THE KURDISH LIST ANNOUNCING RESULTS, SAYING AL- HASSANI HAS BEEN ELECTED THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER AND NAMING THE TWO DEPUTY SPEAKERS, HUSSAIN SHAHRISTANI AND ARIF TAYFOR 1.44 5. MV NEWLY ELECTED SPEAKER AL- HASSANI STANDING UP; MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONGRATULATING AL-HASSANI 1.59 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAJEM AL- HASSANI, NEWLY ELECTED SPEAKER OF THE IRAQI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SAYING: "If we neglect our responsibilities and fail, we will hurt ourselves and the people will replace us with others" 2.32 7. MV IRAQI PRESIDENT GHAZI AL- YAWAR SPEAKING WITH ABDEL AZIZ AL- HAKIM, LEADER OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN, AND HUSSAIN SHAHRISTANI, THE NEWLY ELECTED DEPUTY OF THE NATION ASSEMBLY SPEAKER 2.35 8. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GHAZI AL-YAWAR, IRAQ'S INTERIM PRESIDENT, SAYING: "The National Assembly's choice of a speaker for the Iraqi National Assembly shows the large responsibility Iraqis have. Thank God, the process was democratic and the election was honest" 2.55 9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IBRAHIM JAAFARI, IRAQ'S VICE PRESIDENT, SAYING: "Today's session was successful and many elements contributed to it: the wide participation, my colleagues in charge of the nominations, and those who withdrew from the nomination in a good spirit. All these things contributed to the session's success." 3.23 10. MV MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LEAVING HALL 3.29 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th April 2005 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA44WMI4B3XKAQBON3BXDRO3LNJ
- Story Text: Iraqi National Assembly elects speaker of parliament.
Iraqi politicians ended a political impasse on
Sunday (April 3, 2005) by electing a Sunni Arab to be the speaker
of parliament.
In a ballot, the members of the 275-seat National
Assembly voted overwhelmingly to elect Hajem al-Hassani,
the current industry minister, as speaker. Hassani, a
religious Sunni, is an ally of Interim Prime Minister Iyad
Allawi.
Shi'ite politician Hussain Shahristani and Kurdish
lawmaker Arif Tayfor were named deputy speakers. The
Shi'ites and Kurds, who came first and second in the
elections, agreed that a member of the once-dominant Sunni
Arab minority should be speaker.
The vote took place hours after insurgents mounted a
brazen attack on Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad, battling
U.S. forces for an hour. Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq claimed
responsibility for the attack, in which 44 U.S. troops were
wounded.
Speaking after the vote, al-Hassani praised the members
for overcoming the political crisis which he said has "plagued the
country for the last two months".
But he warned against complacency.
"If we neglect our responsibilities and fail, we will
hurt ourselves and the people will replace us with others,"
he said.
While the meeting was going on, a mortar round struck
near Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where the assembly
gathered, causing a loud blast but little damage, officials
said.
The process of forming a government has been drawn out
by sharp differences between the Islamist-led Shi'ite
alliance and the more secular Kurds over who should get
which cabinet posts.
Parliament's last meeting on March 29 descended into
chaos after politicians berated their leaders for lack of
action.
The naming of a speaker is one step towards ending
Iraq's political deadlock, but a more important step will
be the naming of a president, two vice-presidents, and
prime minister.
Those appointments are expected at parliament's next
meeting on Wednesday (April 6), Shahristani told reporters.
The president is expected to be Jalal Talabani, a Kurd,
and one of the vice presidents will be Adel Abdul Mahdi, a
Shi'ite. The Sunnis need more time to decide who their
candidate for the other vice-president position will be.
The Shi'ite Ibrahim Jaafari will be prime minister.
The departing Iraqi interim President Ghazi al-Yawar
praised the members of parliament for finally deciding on a
speaker.
"The National Assembly's choice of a speaker for the
Iraqi National Assembly shows the large responsibility
Iraqis have. Thank God, the process was democratic and the
election was honest," al-Yawar said at the end of the
session.
Outgoing Vice President, Ibrahim Jaafari said everyone
worked hard at making Sunday's vote happen.
"Today's session was successful and many elements
contributed to it: the wide participation, my colleagues in
charge of the nominations, and those who withdrew from the
nomination in a good spirit. All these things contributed
to the session's success," Jafaari said.
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 weak and
indecisive.
There is also anger among ordinary Iraqis, more than 8
million of whom braved the threat of violence to vote in
January only to see politics descend into squabbling.
Most of the top cabinet posts have already been worked
out but the process has involved intense bargaining and
brinkmanship. One position still in dispute is the oil
ministry, which both the Shi'ites and the Kurds are
determined to secure.
The standoff threatens to derail the timetable for
drawing up a new constitution, 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.
Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders fear that if the Sunnis are
not brought into the process, it will exacerbate the
Sunni-led insurgency that has been raging for more than two
years.
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