 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Baghdad (AFP) Nov 25, 2010 President Jalal Talabani was to officially name Nuri al-Maliki to a second term as Iraq's premier on Thursday, giving him 30 days to form a cabinet after an eight-month impasse since a general election. The move, delayed to give Maliki as much time as possible to negotiate with his rivals, signals an end to the protracted political battle between Iraq's factions. The tussle has seen Iraq shatter the world record for the longest period without a new government after polls. Talabani is expected to name Maliki, who first took the top job in 2006 at a time of brutal sectarian conflict, as prime minister-designate in a ceremony at the president's office, a parliamentary official said, on condition of anonymity. Under Iraq's constitution, Talabani was allowed 15 days to appoint a prime minister following his re-election by MPs on November 11. He had earlier been expected to name Maliki as premier last Sunday, immediately after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, but delayed the decision to give the incumbent more time to negotiate ministerial posts. The re-selection of Talabani, a Kurd, and Maliki, a Shiite, to their posts and the naming of a Sunni Arab as speaker of parliament came after a power-sharing pact was agreed on November 10. The accord also established a new statutory body to oversee security as a sop to ex-premier Iyad Allawi, who had held out for months to regain the top job after his Iraqiya bloc narrowly won the most seats in the March 7 poll. The support of Iraqiya, which garnered most of its seats in Sunni areas of the predominantly Shiite country, is widely seen as vital to preventing a resurgence of inter-confessional violence. The Sunni minority which dominated Saddam Hussein's regime was the bedrock of the anti-US insurgency after the 2003 invasion. Despite being lauded by international leaders including US President Barack Obama, the power-sharing pact has looked fragile ever since. A day after it was agreed, about 60 Iraqiya MPs walked out of a session of parliament, protesting that it was not being honoured. The bloc's MPs had wanted three of its senior members, barred before the election for their alleged ties to Saddam's banned Baath party, to be reinstated immediately. Two days later, however, Iraq's lawmakers appeared to have salvaged the deal after leaders from the country's three main parties met and agreed to reconcile and address the MPs' grievances.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century
Kuwait official says new border deal struck with IraqKuwait City (AFP) Nov 24, 2010 Iraq and Kuwait have agreed to create a 500-metre (yard) no-man's land on each side of the border and move Iraqi farmers to new homes, a Kuwaiti official said in comments published Wednesday. Under the deal, Kuwait undertook to build up to 50 homes inside Iraq for the farmers living close to the frontier, the Al-Seyassah daily quoted foreign ministry Arab world department chief Jassem Al-Mub ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
