AP, Baghdad, 1 July 2014 — Iraq’s new parliament deadlocked less than two hours into its first session when minority Sunnis and Kurds walked out on Tuesday, dashing hopes for the quick formation of a new government that could hold the country together in the face of a militant blitz.
The main sticking point is the job of prime minister, which holds the main levers of power. Under an informal system that took hold after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s prime minister is chosen from the Shiite community, the president from the Kurdish minority and the speaker of parliament from the Sunni community. Al-Maliki, who has held the post since 2006, is being pressed to step aside as his failure to promote reconciliation has been blamed for stoking the Sunni insurgency.
Sunnis and Kurds, both of whom accuse al-Maliki of breaking promises and attempting to monopolize power, demand that he be replaced.
Sunni lawmaker Hamid al-Mutlaq said the Sunnis walked out of Tuesday’s parliament session because they feel they need more time to reach a “serious understanding with others on how to run this country and change the course that has led the country to the current disaster.” “We do not want only to discuss the distribution of posts and the names of the candidates. Rather, we think we need to discuss how to change the behavior of the failing government,” al-Mutlaq told The Associated Press.” We did not want to give some people the chance to make the parliament session a race for posts. The fate of the country is more important that the post trophies or the names of possible candidates.” The tensions have also brought to the fore the deeper fissures that run through Iraq, including among its sectarian and ethnic groups — even in parliament.
Before the brief session concluded, Kurdish lawmaker Najiba Najib called upon the government to end “the embargo imposed on Kurdistan region which did not receive its share in the budget since February.”