Iraq’s new Parliament convened for just under 20 minutes on Monday in what was little more than a symbolic inaugural session because of unresolved differences over key government positions, a precarious political limbo three months after inconclusive elections.
The sides are sharply divided over the formation of a new government, and analysts and some legislators have warned that a decision could still be months away. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is battling to keep his job after the rival Sunni-backed Iraqiya list narrowly won the most seats in the March 7 balloting.
In Parliament, Mr Maliki watched as his chief rival, Ayad Allawi, who heads the Iraqiya bloc, and other legislators stood to take the oath of office in Arabic and Kurdish. The other half of the session was taken up by the singing of the national anthem and readings from the Quran.
Under the Iraq’s Constitution, the legislature should have chosen a Parliament Speaker and a President, but these appointments had to be put off because they are part of the negotiations between major political blocs over the rest of the new leadership, including a Prime Minister and top Cabinet officials.
Acting Speaker, Fouad Massoum, adjourned the session after about 20 minutes, saying the parties needed more time to discuss the issue. He said the session would be left open, a technicality aimed at allowing negotiations to continue beyond the 30-day deadline set in the Constitution.
No date was set for the next meeting. The session began amid heightened security, a day after insurgents stormed the country’s central bank in a coordinated attack that left more than 20 people dead. Persistent violence has raised fears that Al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents are trying to exploit the political deadlock to foment unrest and derail security gains as the US military prepares to withdraw by the end of 2011.