Iraq’s political deadlock deepened on Tuesday when the Parliament failed to elect a speaker in a session marred by acrimony and farce, further delaying the formation of a government, two months after the election.
Police and army units shut down half the capital to secure the Assembly’s second sitting, but instead of a breakthrough, the day ended in frustration, with deputies exchanging blame.
As the proceedings degenerated, the body’s stand-in speaker expelled journalists from the hall, and the United States-funded national broadcaster, Iraqiya, cut its live transmission to show a black-tie orchestra playing music.
”What are we going to tell the citizens who sacrificed their lives and cast ballots on January 30? What is the reason for this delay?” said Hussein al-Sadr, a Shia cleric and member of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s coalition.
Deputies said they will meet on Sunday for another attempt to elect a speaker and clear the way to name a president and two deputy presidents, who in turn will appoint a prime minister and Cabinet.
Until then, the interim government will continue, averting a power vacuum. However, the delays in forming an administration have drained some of the euphoria from a poll billed as a landmark in Middle East democracy.
In addition to quelling an insurgency and rebuilding a shattered economy, the government and Parliament are supposed to draft a Constitution by August. That deadline could slip by six months, some deputies said on Tuesday.
”You can say we are in a crisis,” said Barham Salih, a leading member of the Kurdish alliance.
The immediate cause was the decision by the interim President, Ghazi al-Yawer, to decline the job of speaker, apparently because he preferred to be a vice-president, a post with more prestige and perks.
”We are surprised and upset that this meeting has been blocked for just one person,” said Saad Qindeel, a spokesperson for one of the leading parties in the clergy-backed Shia coalition, which holds a slim majority in the 275-seat House.
Last week, the Shias reportedly struck a power-sharing deal with the Kurds, forming a bloc with the two-thirds majority needed to form a government. Both sides have agreed a memorandum of understanding on key issues, such as oil revenues, militias and the status of the disputed city of Kirkuk.
Under the deal, the president would be a Kurd, Jalal Talabani, and the prime minister a Shia, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. The Sunni minority would be given the speakership and at least one big Cabinet post, such as defence or finance.
When Yawer held firm, the Shias and Kurds were faced with little option but to delay the arrangement, because he is one of the few Arab Sunnis deemed to have the status to bring other Sunnis into the political process. — Guardian Unlimited Â