Deadlock Over Iraqi Presidency as UN and US Officials Fail to Reach Agreement

American, Iraqi and UN officials have stalled in their efforts to select an Iraqi president, despite agreeing on key cabinet ministers for the new government that will take over on July 1. The deadlock is centered around the highly symbolic position of president, with two Sunni candidates, Adnan Pachachi and Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, being considered for the largely ceremonial role.

Key Takeaways:

• The UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and the chief American administrator, L. Paul Bremer 3rd, are backing Adnan Pachachi, a former foreign minister, for the presidency.
• Leaders of the Iraqi Governing Council support Sheik Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, an American-educated engineer, for the position.
• The Governing Council has been pressing its views aggressively, with Yondam Kanna, a member of the Iraqi council, stating that "Ambassador Bremer, he will leave, and the UN, they will leave. We are the ones who will have to answer to the Iraqi people."
• Brahimi has reached agreements on the choices for two vice presidents: Ibrahim Jafari, the leader of the Dawa Party, and Razh Shawees, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Party.
• The selection of Iyad Allawi, an exile closely tied to the CIA, as the prime minister, has added to the challenges in forming the interim government.
• The presidency is designed to have limited powers but is important for its symbolic value, with the Iraqi leaders agreeing that the office should be filled by a Sunni Arab as a consolation prize to the ethnic group most closely identified with Saddam Hussein and his government.
• The Iraqi Governing Council has been playing a surprisingly strong role in the negotiations over jobs in the interim government, with many members able to call on significant grass-roots support.

Statistics:

• The new Iraqi government is expected to stay in power until early next year, when nationwide elections are scheduled.
• The Bush administration and the Iraqi Governing Council asked Brahimi to help put together a government that, while unelected, would claim legitimacy in the eyes of ordinary Iraqis and contain a balance among the country's religious and ethnic groups.
• The selection of Iyad Allawi as prime minister was seen as a compromise that reflected the balancing act under way between the Sunni minority and the Shiite majority.

Sources:

• Dexter Filkins and Steven R. Weisman, "Deadlock Over Iraqi Presidency as UN and US Officials Fail to Reach Agreement," *The New York Times*
• —, "Iraq's Leaders Agree on New Cabinet Posts; Disputes Remain Over Presidency," *The New York Times*