BAGHDAD, 18 March 2005 — After the historic opening of their elected national assembly, Iraq’s political heavyweights bartered yesterday over the makeup of the next government, seeking a balance between the fractious ethic and religious communities.
US Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte flew out of Baghdad after nine months to take up his new job in Washington as US national intelligence director, the US Embassy announced in a statement.
His successor has yet to be named, although current ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad, is the top candidate.
The Shiites and Kurds, with the two biggest blocs in the 275-seat Parliament, were holding pivotal talks on the lineup of the first freely elected government in half a century.
“Talks will continue between the negotiating Kurdish delegation and representatives of the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) about the formation of the government,” Kurdish negotiator Kamal Fuad told AFP.
“The talks are being carried out smoothly and in some positive climate.”
But no politician wanted to predict when Iraq’s mosaic of Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis, Christians and Turkmen would unveil their government and the Parliament reconvene.
“I cannot predict when that will be done,” Fuad said. The Shiite candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, told reporters on Wednesday it could take as long as two weeks.
A Shiite negotiator and senior member of Jaafari’s Dawa party was optimistic that a deal could be struck by the end of next week. “The assembly will not be meeting again until there is an agreement,” Jawad Al-Maliky told AFP yesterday.
“We are putting the final touches on our agreement and I expect it to be finalized by the end of this coming week at the latest.”
Maliky spoke about the possibility of a senior role for Allawi.
Meanwhile, insurgents in the Iraqi city of Balad have shot dead an Iraqi Army major, Mohammed Abdul Mutlab, who had survived an assassination attempt just two weeks ago.
