Iraq's Parliament elects speaker

BAGHDAD, July 15 (UPI) -- Iraq's Parliament elected a speaker Tuesday, and legislators hailed the achievement as the start of unifying the national government, after a political stalemate threatened to fracture the country.

A member of the Parliament's majority Sunni bloc, Salim al-Jubouri, is the new speaker. His election is seen as a relief and an opportunity to begin selecting ministers for other posts.

"We shortened the time compared to the last time -- this is evidence that Iraqi democracy is on the right track," said Shiite lawmaker Abbas al-Bayati. "All this took place according to the agreement, all of which means national unity just shot up."

Speaker Jubouri, regarded as more moderate than his predecessor, Osama al-Nujaifi, is charged with naming a president, who will name a prime minister. The current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, will likely not be re-appointed. The process can take up to eight weeks, but it can be accelerated. The United Nations, among others, has urged the Iraqi government to organize itself quickly and deal with a Sunni insurgency that has overtaken a portion of the country.

Jubouri's election came as a major air assault was launched on the city of Tikrit, an attempt to eliminate the last Sunni militants there.