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| Iraqi Parliament to Meet to Form New Government | Iraqi Parliament to Meet to Form New Government |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Parliament will convene on Monday to try to form a new government as required by the Constitution, the state television network Iraqiya announced Thursday. | |
| Western diplomats as well as the powerful Shiite clerics in Najaf have urged the interim government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to move as quickly as possible to form a new government, urging Mr. Maliki to try to bring in Sunnis and Kurds to give the new government more credibility in its fight with Sunni extremists. | Western diplomats as well as the powerful Shiite clerics in Najaf have urged the interim government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to move as quickly as possible to form a new government, urging Mr. Maliki to try to bring in Sunnis and Kurds to give the new government more credibility in its fight with Sunni extremists. |
| Other political leaders have called for a coalition that would replace Mr. Maliki, but American officials have said they view that as unlikely to succeed since Mr. Maliki was both the largest vote-getter personally and has control of the largest bloc of seats. His Rule of Law party controls at least 92 seats in Parliament, with a variety of other parties having no more than 33 seats each. A majority needed to form the government is 165 seats of the 328 in parliament. | Other political leaders have called for a coalition that would replace Mr. Maliki, but American officials have said they view that as unlikely to succeed since Mr. Maliki was both the largest vote-getter personally and has control of the largest bloc of seats. His Rule of Law party controls at least 92 seats in Parliament, with a variety of other parties having no more than 33 seats each. A majority needed to form the government is 165 seats of the 328 in parliament. |
| The results of the April 30 election were certified by Iraq’s highest court on June 17, and the Constitution requires Parliament to convene within 15 days, so Monday, July 1 is the latest day possible. The Parliament first selects a speaker, and then proceeds to elect a president, vice-presidents and a prime minister in a process that may take months, judging by previous elections. | The results of the April 30 election were certified by Iraq’s highest court on June 17, and the Constitution requires Parliament to convene within 15 days, so Monday, July 1 is the latest day possible. The Parliament first selects a speaker, and then proceeds to elect a president, vice-presidents and a prime minister in a process that may take months, judging by previous elections. |
| Many political leaders and diplomats have expressed hope that forming a government could happen more quickly than in the past, given the threat to the country from Islamic militants who have advanced to within less than 50 miles of the capital since overrunning the northern city of Mosul on June 10. | Many political leaders and diplomats have expressed hope that forming a government could happen more quickly than in the past, given the threat to the country from Islamic militants who have advanced to within less than 50 miles of the capital since overrunning the northern city of Mosul on June 10. |
| Mr. Maliki has already served two terms as prime minister of a Shiite-dominated government, and many Sunnis in particular want to see a constitutional change to limit future prime ministers to two terms. | Mr. Maliki has already served two terms as prime minister of a Shiite-dominated government, and many Sunnis in particular want to see a constitutional change to limit future prime ministers to two terms. |
| Sunnis and Kurds want a number of other concessions before they are willing to join the government, but so far Mr. Maliki has not proposed any concrete changes that would be likely to satisfy those groups. | Sunnis and Kurds want a number of other concessions before they are willing to join the government, but so far Mr. Maliki has not proposed any concrete changes that would be likely to satisfy those groups. |
| Separately, Mr. Maliki, in an interview with the BBC, said that Syrian jets had carried out air strikes against Sunni militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, near the town of Qaim on the Syrian border on Tuesday, the first official confirmation from the Iraqi government of the strikes. But Mr. Maliki, in an interview with the network’s Arabic service, said that the attacks had been on the Syrian side of the border, not in Iraq. | |
| “Yes Syrian jets did strike al Qaim area inside the Syrian side of the border,” Mr. Maliki said, according to a BBC translation. “There was no coordination involved but we welcome this action. We actually welcome any Syrian strike against ISIS because this group targets both Iraq and Syria.” | |
| He added that the Iraqi government had not requested the attacks. “They carry out their strikes and we carry out ours, and the final winners are our two countries,” he said, according to the network. |