The Iraqi Parliament elected President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to a second term and gave the post of parliament speaker to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab. Al-Mashhadani's two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.
Talabani's first act was to designate Jawad al-Maliki, a Shiite, to form a new government.
Now that the political deadlock among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds has been ended hopefully Iraq can make significant progress towards forming a permanent government and quelling the sectarian violence.
Comments