Shiites Win Majority of New Iraq Assembly

[MrBishop]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - [size=-1]Iraq (news - web sites)'s electoral commission Thursday certified the results of the country's Jan. 30 elections and allocated 140 National Assembly seats to the United Iraqi Alliance, giving the Shiite-dominated party a majority in the new parliament. [/size]




The certification sets the stage for the first meeting of the National Assembly, which will have 10 months to draft a new constitution.



The assembly's first order of business will be to elect a president and two vice presidents to largely ceremonial positions. The assembly then will approve a prime minister nominated by the president and vice presidents.

The Shiite-led alliance's majority in the assembly had been expected, based on projections from the final results announced Sunday. The clergy-backed ticket won 48 percent of the vote and the Kurdish alliance received 26 percent of the vote, giving it 75 seats. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who supported strong ties to Washington, won 14 percent.

More

Shiites take control of the Iraqui GVT. I'm sure that there is a lot of cheering in Iran too.... wondering what happens next?

Iraqis watch an oil fire burn near Baiji, north of Baghdad, February 17, 2005. An explosion hit an oil pipeline on the outskirts of the city causing a large blaze and sending thick clouds of black smoke over the city. An oil official said yesterday that the country's oil export pipeline to Turkey was hit by sabotage on Tuesday night and said flows were expected to resume early next week. (Sabah Hamid/Reuters)

 

[Professur]

Well, shiite. Noone expected that.