Parliament session postponed to ensure 'strong government' -- Iraqi officials

By Mohammed al-Qaisi in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-07-13



				[Muhannad Fala'ah /Getty Images] The Iraqi parliament postponed the date to resume the first session.

[Muhannad Fala'ah /Getty Images] The Iraqi parliament postponed the date to resume the first session.

Iraqi politicians and lawmakers said the postponement of parliament's first session aims to give political blocs more time to form the new Iraqi government.

In a news conference held Monday (June 12th) following a meeting with top Iraqi political leaders, interim speaker of parliament Fouad Maasum said leaders "have unanimously agreed to continue meetings and communications between the blocs to hold talks on the formation of the government in the coming days."

Iraqi politicians originally agreed to resume the first session of parliament, which convened a month ago, on Wednesday (July 14th).

According to Maasum, discussions about outstanding issues are ongoing and will continue "to ensure that they pick a strong government, a president, and a parliament speaker in a way that meets the ambitions of Iraqis."

He said political blocs are discussing new government guidelines, including compliance with the Constitution, establishment of Constitutional rules in the administration of the state, adherence to election rules, balance, prohibition of the use of armed forces for political purposes, partnership, and other important points.

Maasum expressed optimism that the political blocs will be able to reach an agreement that facilitates the political process and distributes top posts "in a way that makes the Iraqi government stronger and more representative of the Iraqi people across the spectrum."

Parliamentarian Feriad Rawanduzi said the delay gives "everyone the chance to reach a political agreement that will push the political process forward."

Meanwhile, Deputy Iraqi Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi said it is important to involve all political blocs in "a national partnership government without any exclusion or marginalization."

"The meetings and conferences of Iraqi leaders have not stopped," al-Issawi said. "There are common understandings and everyone is moving ahead from the same vision, which is the interest of Iraq and Iraqis."

Al-Issawi said an agreement among the political blocs will be finalised in the coming days to produce a national government based on the election results from last March.

Hasan al-Saneed, a leader in the State of Law Coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, reiterated the sentiments of the other politicians.

"The postponement of the session stems from a real desire to continue with talks and to produce a government that will run the affairs of Iraq for the next four years," al-Saneed said.

"The full agreement between the political blocs on a government program and a comprehensive agenda of reforms in the country is a strong push forward for the political process and democracy in Iraq," said Mohammed al-Bahdeli, a member of the Iraqi National Alliance.

Waleed al-Muhammadi, a parliamentarian representing Iraqi Accordance Front, said the delay will be worthwhile. "The two weeks of talks will be useful for Iraq in the long run."

"What Iraq needs today, and impatiently waits for, is not a government to put out fires, but a government that is capable of attending to the major national tasks -- whether security, social, economic, cultural, or other tasks," al-Muhammadi said. "This is what all the leaders of Iraqi blocs aspire to and agreed on."

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Reader Comments

أحمد الدقاق2010-07-26 04:03:00

I believe that the new parliament suffers from several internal problems due to the political disagreements between the winning blocks and lists. So, I see that this parliament stumbles even before starting its work, which will weaken its performance and shake the Iraqi people’s confidence in it. Such political delays and controversies between the political parties must end quickly in order to come up with a good solution that accelerates the formation of the long-awaited new Iraqi government, upon which the Iraqi people have pinned many hopes and wishes that they want to see in reality. In the light of all the related signs and indicators on the Iraqi political arena, I have not yet seen any serious steps or brave stances on the part of the Iraqi politicians, because they have not yet thought about the suffering of the Iraqis or overlooked their personal and partisan disagreements for the sake of the interests of Iraq and its people. This appears clearly, through their failure to form a new government until now. Hence, I see that the Iraqis’ patience with those politicians will not last long, as the Iraqis are suffering terribly, and they are waiting for the results of the talks between the political leaders to decide who deserves respect and deserves to remain in office, as opposed to those who only seek to secure their personal privileges at the expense of Iraqis. All leaders of the parliamentary blocs and the new parliamentarians have to realize that the formation of the new Iraqi government is a popular demand, and all disagreements must be settled quickly, to conclude agreements that will accelerate the formation of the new Iraqi government. They also should know that assuming power is a trust, not a means for enjoying personal and family privileges. Consequently, the Iraqi politicians should rise above the political narrow-mindedness and consider the interests of Iraq and its people as their top priority.

عبدالرحمن عبدالله2010-07-22 05:01:00

There are different analyses and many statements in determining the party or parties responsible for committing the regrettable bloody crimes that took place in Baghdad; and there are so many of them. Some point the finger at al-Qaeda, some at Iran, and to this day, the Iraqi government had not carried out a broad investigation to find out the true criminals. Certainly, the person who carried out this operation is either a fool or a hateful and cowardly sadist, and the result is killing innocent Iraqis, deepening divisions among factions of the Iraqi people, and creating a civil war leading to a divided Iraq, God forbid... Regards.

2010-07-20 15:04:00

In my opinion, the Iraqi parliament will not hold its new session under the new Iraqi government as scheduled, because this government has not been formed yet, because of the slackening of the political leaderships in resolving the issue and solving the pending problems. These problems must be solved as soon as possible, to pave the way for the formation of the Iraqi government soon. The new Iraqi parliament assumes a historical responsibility, since it is entrusted with the mission of forming that government and granting it confidence. Given the fact that the new parliamentarians represent the people's voice and conscience, they need to work hard to bridge the gap in views between the political parties, to unite their efforts and thus form a strong Iraqi government that ‎will meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people, who deserve respect, love and sacrifice on the part of those politicians. That is because, were it not for the Iraqi people, they would have never reached this position. In short, we must hold the session of parliament as soon as possible and dot the i’s, end the pending issues, and get rid of the current situation.

عيفان2010-07-16 04:00:00

Al-Maliki alleges that he follows the democratic principles, but we see him sticking to the authority and his office as prime minister of Iraq, while some people believe that he is not the right person for this stage, during which the Iraqi people are looking for someone who will take care of the economy and eliminate corruption and bribes. The Iraqis are hoping for a man who will start real reconstruction projects and provide the citizens with the necessary services. The Al-Maliki government failed in many sectors; hence, many people want to try another person, hoping that he may succeed in solving the unemployment problem, in addition to the previous ones. Moreover, many politicians and ordinary citizens want to see the peaceful transfer of power and to end any monopolization of offices by Al-Maliki or any other person. Hence, we need to find a formula to get out of this dilemma before the situation deteriorates and reaches the point of civil disobedience in protest against those politicians who cannot lead the country to the safe side and who jeopardize its stability. Of course, this is a very dangerous situation.

سامر2010-07-15 15:04:00

The two Lists will reach an agreement in the end, one way or another. However, they need to forget about their political problems and differences, which do not serve the situation. They should look for common factors, bring their views together, and make compromises from both sides. They should not take rigid positions, so they can resolve all their differences quickly and speed up the formation of the government. If the government includes Allawi and Al-Maliki, I think that it will be the strongest government in the history of modern Iraq, because each of them has many qualities and much experience that will contribute to dealing with all the outstanding issues and resolve most of the problems that plague the wounded Iraqi people. I think that the Iraqi government will not take a long time to be formed, whether it is through the alliance of Allawi and Al-Maliki or not, because it has become a popular demand and Iraqis will not wait long for politicians who are procrastinating a lot. They will rebel against this miserable reality if the situation continues as it is for a long time. Indeed, the Iraqi people have pinned all their hopes on this government that will be formed. If it does not carry out its duties, the Iraqi people will lose confidence in the ongoing political process in Iraq, which will fail. The decision-makers among the politicians, who are now members of the Iraqi Parliament, thanks to the voices of the Iraqi people, have to work very hard to form the government as soon as possible.

jamal2010-07-14 14:05:00

No matter what happens, I will not accept this!

المحب للعراق2010-07-14 13:05:00

I swear, we have grown weary of the repeated postponement. What is this? Is this the formation of a government or the invention of a rocket? One who loves Iraq

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