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New Iraq parliament meets

July 1, 2014

Iraq's members of parliament have gathered for the first time for talks to form a government following April elections. Leaders are under pressure as ISIS militants assert power over large parts of the country.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CTEc
Nouri al-Maliki
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Iraq's lawmakers stood for the national anthem, played by an orchestra, as they began the challenge of forming a new government able to confront the insurgency of militants from al Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has renamed itself the Islamic State (IS).

"The security setback that has beset Iraq must be brought to a stop, and security and stability have to be regained all over Iraq, so that it can head down the path in the right way toward the future," acting parliamentary speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh said in his opening remarks on Tuesday.

Premier Nouri al-Maliki, whose party won by far the most seats in the April 30 polls, has had his bid for reelection as prime minister damaged by the rapid advance of Sunni ISIS over large parts of northern and western Iraq.

There's pressure on the lawmakers to form a government quickly, including choosing the country's president, prime minister and parliament speaker. However a quick compromise seems unlikely, with Maliki expressing no willingness to step aside despite receiving criticism for his handling of the crisis and favoring the country's Shiite majority, allowing resentment to flourish among the Sunni population.

The country's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged lawmakers last week to agree on a prime minister, president and parliament speaker before meeting in hopes of averting months of wrangling that could further destabilize the country.

The lawmakers meeting comes as the United States boosts its security in Iraq.

Deadly month

The violence in Iraq has claimed at least 2,417 lives and wounded more than 2,287 people in June, according to United Nations figures released on Tuesday. The majority of those killed were civilians.

"The staggering number of civilian casualties in one month points to the urgent need for all to ensure that civilians are protected," the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.

se/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)