Iraq's New Parliament Holds First Session

Iraq's new parliament was sworn in Thursday, 3 months after the elections, under very strict security. The interim government, fearing violence, declared a holiday and imposed a day-long ban on vehicles in the capital, so far no major incidents having been reported by the Police.

Hardly had the meeting begun when it was indefinitely adjourned because of the lack of agreement on a permanent speaker for the legislature. The meeting, which lasted for 30 minute, only allowed the participants to declare that they will "preserve the independence and the sovereignty of Iraq and to take care of the interests of its people," said Adnan Pachachi, the senior politician who administered the oath.

"The danger is still looming and the enemies are ready for us because they do not like to see a united, strong, stable Iraq." Pachachi's speech was interrupted by senior Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, stating that his remarks were inappropriate. After the meeting, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari made a statement to the media "if politicians work seriously, we can have a government within a month."

He is running for a second term as prime minister. The current constitution states that the largest parliamentary bloc, controlled by Shiites, has the right to nominate the prime minister. The Shiites nomination was won last month by Al-Jaafari. Negotiations over a new government are continuing and could last for weeks or even months.

This political confusion might lead to an increase of sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunnis. U.S. and Iraqi officials especially aim at including in the new governing the Sunni Arabs, thing which might defuse a deadly Sunni-led insurgency. The Sunnis' participation is also vital to relieving the tensions started with a bombing of a Shiite Mosque on February 22, followed by the death of 1,000 people in the next days.

The formation of the government is made difficult by the argument between Sunni Arabs and Kurds over the Shiite's nominee for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jafari, who, as they claim, has done few things for stopping the Iraq's violence and building its reconstruction.