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"It
was a great breakthrough to finally have the speaker
announced," said Qubad Talabani, the
Washington-based spokesman for the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan -- whose leader, Jalal Talabani, is
expected to serve as president. Jalal Talabani is
Qubad Talabani's father.
Tomorrow, the National Assembly is expected to
nominate the president and two vice presidents, who
then will nominate a prime minister. Once the
candidate is approved by a majority vote in the
National Assembly, he can proceed to form a Cabinet.
"The deadlock is broken, and everything is moving
right now," said Karim al-Musawi, spokesman for the
Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI),
one of the leading parties in the Shi'ite-dominated
United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which holds a majority
in the National Assembly.
"There is good conversation between the parties.
They are on their way to reach an agreement about
the Cabinet. We are on the right path," Mr. al-Musawi
said.
As it stands now, Jalal Talabani will become the
first Kurdish president of Iraq and Shi'ite Dawa
Party leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari will become prime
minister. Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud
Barzani will be Kurdistan's regional president.
The two vice-presidential positions are expected to
be given to a Sunni and a Shi'ite. Of the five most
important, or "sovereign" ministries, oil, interior
and finance are expected to go to UIA members. The
ministry of foreign affairs will go to the Kurds,
and defense will likely be led by a Sunni.
"They are still juggling with the names," said Adnan
Ali, a Dawa Party spokesman in Baghdad. "In the
coming week, we will hear more about the names of
strong candidates."
Mr. Ali said the new prime minister would want to
weigh in on the profile of the new Cabinet,
emphasizing competence and experience while seeking
members who will be able to work as a team.
Officials of the Kurdish alliance, which holds 75
seats in the 275-seat assembly, said they were
pleased with the negotiations so far, but cautioned
that work had yet to be done on the future of the
oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
"We are satisfied with the Kurdish bloc retaining
the position of foreign minister," Qubad Talabani
said. The question of Kirkuk, he said, would take a
long time to resolve.
Political leaders have agreed that the new
government will set up a mechanism to rectify the
injustices of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's
regime, providing for the repatriation of Kurds who
were expelled from the city and redrawing the
administrative boundaries of the governorate to its
1968 borders.
Saddam annexed parts of Kirkuk to neighboring
governorates that year. Once these areas have been
returned to Kirkuk, the people will hold a
referendum on whether to be administered by
Kurdistan or Baghdad.
The parties also have agreed in principle that oil
revenues will be distributed evenly among all
Iraqis, with special attention going to communities
that were deprived under Saddam, such as the Kurds,
Marsh Arabs and Shi'ites of southern Iraq. No hard
numbers have been determined. "Everyone will get a
proportionate share, with special compensation for
those who need the money," Qubad Talabani said.
On another sticking point, it has been agreed that
the Kurdish "peshmerga" militia will be considered
part of the Iraqi armed forces, but will be
commanded and deployed by the Kurdish regional
government.
"The negotiations were tough, and they were
complex," Qubad Talabani said. "It was a matter of
balancing everyone's wishes. That is why it has
taken so long."
Hopes are high that swearing in the new government
will propel Iraq's political and security fortunes
forward.
"I think we really have achieved a lot. We have
witnessed that the number of [terrorist] attacks has
been reduced by a third, and I think it will
continue to go down," said Mr. Ali, speaking by
telephone from Baghdad.
"The more the political process takes place and
assures the Iraqis it is genuine and not a game, I
think this will push Iraqis to believe this
democratic process is true," he said.
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