Sun Apr 3, 2005 06:37 PM ET

By Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians chose a Sunni Arab to be the speaker of parliament on Sunday, ending a political impasse and taking a decisive step toward forming a government nine weeks after historic elections.

In a ballot, the members of the 275-seat National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to elect Hajem al-Hassani, the industry minister, as speaker. Hassani, a religious Sunni, is an ally of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

"We passed the first hurdle," Hassani told reporters. "The Iraqi people have proven that they can overcome the political crisis that has plagued the country for the last two months."

But he also warned against complacency: "If we neglect our responsibilities and fail, we will hurt ourselves and the people will replace us with others."

Shi'ite politician Hussain Shahristani and Kurdish lawmaker Arif Tayfor were named deputy speakers. The Shi'ites and Kurds, who came first and second in the elections, agreed that a member of the once-dominant Sunni Arab minority should be speaker.


More bad news for the USA haters. A Sunni, no less. A united Iraq is slowly coming together. Nothing is going to stop it now. Tough luck to the treasonous.