Iraq's Shi'ite bloc to ask for parliament delay

Baghdad, Mar 7: Iraq's ruling Shi'ite alliance will ask President Jalal Talabani to postpone Sunday's opening of Parliament for a few days, a senior member of the SCIRI Shi'ite party told sources today (Mar 7, 2006).

Meeting a constitutional requirement, Talabani, a Kurd, announced yesterday he will summon the first session of Iraq's Parliament since elections in December.

But Rida Jawad al-Takki told Reuters that Shi'ite legislators had decided to ask Talabani to delay the opening session after Sunnis, Kurds and secular leaders launched a campaign opposing the nomination of Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari for a second term.

''We have decided to ask Talabani to postpone the parliament's first session for a few days. We are discussing the demands from the other groups to change our nomination,'' Takki said.

Jaafari, who has been criticised for failing to curb violence that has pushed Iraq toward the brink of civil war, won a tight internal vote of Shi'ite legislators last month that exposed divisions within the powerful alliance bloc.

The row over the premiership has delayed efforts to form a government of national unity, which Washington sees as its best hope to foster stability and allow it to draw down troops.

REUTERS