Iraq’s parliament will convene by Saturday to elect a speaker and try to reach agreement on a government to end a political crisis in the country, politicians said.
The assembly’s first working session will be held at the weekend after the Shiite and Kurdish blocs, who between them have the two-thirds majority needed to form a government, sign a declaration on the status of the oil city of Kirkuk and the role of Islam, they said.
“We will affirm the need to solve territorial disputes according to the interim constitution, which also says Islam is a main source of legislation and dispels fears that Iraq will be ruled by the clergy,” said Ali al-Dabagh, a member of the Shiite bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance.
“There are still issues to be settled, notably ministries such as defense,” said Dabagh, who is well connected with the Shiite seminary in Najaf and its Iranian-born leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, another alliance member, said the session of the 275-member assembly could be as early as Friday, after Kurdish leaders return from celebrations in the north.
Uloum said Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, is the main candidate for speaker and it is understood that Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani will be appointed president in exchange for the Kurds backing Alliance candidate Ibrahim Jaafari for prime minister.
“If things go smoothly we could see a presidential council elected in the same session,” said Uloum, a candidate to head the oil ministry.
Parliament needs to elect a president and two vice presidents in order for the government to be formed. The assembly convened for the first time last week, but the session was ceremonial, with no government in place yet.
Cabinet ministers, including those for the portfolios of defense, finance and oil, have to yet to be finalized, MPs said.
Iraq has been in limbo since Jan 30. elections which gave the Shiite alliance 140 seats and the Kurds 75. The two sides have been arguing over the status of Kirkuk, which the Kurds want as part of their federal region, how to split cabinet seats and how to define the role of Islam in Iraqi politics.
