This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
IRAQ’S new parliament ended its first session today after failing to make progress in choosing the country’s new leadership, including a prime minister.
Acting speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh called off proceedings after less than two hours when most of the 328-member legislature’s Sunni Arab and Kurdish lawmakers did not return after a short break, depriving it of a quorum.
Top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani had urged MPs last week to agree on a prime minister, president and parliament speaker before yesterday’s meeting in hopes of averting months of wrangling.
However, incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose bloc won the most seats in April elections, has shown no intention of stepping aside.
According to the UN, Iraq saw a sharp increase in deaths to 2,417, including 1,531 civilians, last month.
Kurdistan regional president Massoud Barzani announced yesterday that he would hold an independence referendum within months, calling Iraq “effectively partitioned.”
