Iraq Press Roundup

An initial agreement for a new alliance

Independent provincial lawmakers backed by the Sadrist Movement made efforts to form an alliance with the prime minister's State of Law party, Sot al-Iraq reported Thursday.

Amir al-Kinani with the Independent Free Movement, or al-Ahrar coalition, said a new alliance would take shape in the provinces where the two slates won the most votes in the January elections: Baghdad, Dhi Qar and Maysan.

The representation from the Independent slate and State of Law would vary according to the percentage of votes each gained in the elections.

Kinani said the idea of forming provincial alliances would prevent any one party from dominating the political scene. Though State of Law won major victories in many of the provinces, the margin of victory was not enough to secure a majority.

Independents had established a committee to weigh other options in several other provinces, but those negotiations would hinge on Thursday's announcement of official vote tallies.

Parliament fails to choose a speaker

Iraqi lawmakers carried out a second round of secret balloting for the Parliament speaker Thursday but failed to reach a majority vote for the leading candidate, al-Sabaah reported Thursday.

Iyad al-Samarrai and Deputy Speaker Khalil Jadua, both with the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front slate, contended in a runoff election Thursday.

Lawmakers in the Wednesday session gave Samarrai 123 votes, suggesting a possible end to months of debate over the speaker position. Iraq has been without a speaker since Mahmoud Mashhadani resigned in December.

The vetting process is tense among lawmakers, with allegations mounting that the delay was a measure to issue a vote of no confidence against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Hashim al-Taei with the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party denied the allegations, however, saying it was not in the national interest.

Iraqi president, PM discuss political process

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met to discuss the latest political developments among the various alliances, al-Adala reported Thursday.

Both leaders met to discuss the way forward following a period of turmoil among members of the various political blocs in Iraq.

Members of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan pulled out of the party but returned when the Kurdish president agreed to a power-sharing arrangement. Maliki, for his part, faces turmoil in the Iraqi Parliament as lawmakers there failed again Thursday to agree on a new speaker.

Meanwhile, Talabani held meetings with South Korean Ambassador to Iraq Ha-chan Hu to encourage bilateral relations between the two nations.

Talabani told the envoy that Iraq welcomes the interest in the international community as Iraq re-emerges on the world stage.

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(Edited by Daniel Graeber)