Two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and two and a half months after that country's historic elections, Iraq's Parliament held its inaugural session last week. Although the legislative session was more symbolic than substantive, the symbolism was important nonetheless. The convening of the assembly allows Iraqis to begin building a government. It will be slow and sometimes sloppy, but the people of Iraq are now creating their own political system -- and that process itself will pay dividends for the country.
On Jan. 30, the Iraqi people defied terrorists and overcame long-standing ethnic divisions to elect their first postwar Parliament. As expected, Shiite Muslims won a majority in the 275-member assembly: The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance claimed 140 seats and the Kurdistan Alliance came in second with 75. The Iraqi List put together by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi won 40 seats. All together, 12 parties are represented in the assembly; 85 women won election in the ballot.
A two-thirds majority is needed to form a government. Reportedly, disagreements over security arrangements in the northern autonomous zone run by Kurds and the status of the city of Kirkuk have been the primary obstacles to a deal between the Shiites and the Kurds. Enough progress has been made to hold the inaugural parliamentary session and swear in legislators, but that is all. The session adjourned after several speeches, without electing a speaker, a president and vice president, and without selecting a date to reconvene.Still, reports that the Shiites and the Kurds have reached agreement and are now selecting a government are encouraging, as is news that the two parties are beginning negotiations with Mr. Allawi and are prepared to bring Sunni Muslims into the government as well. Sunnis make up roughly 20 percent of the Iraqi population, but they dominated during the rule of former President Saddam Hussein, a fellow Sunni. Disenfranchisement has left them embittered. Most Sunnis boycotted the January ballot, ensuring that they would not be proportionately represented in the resulting Parliament.