UN Special Envoy In Iraq Calls For Urgent Agreement To Elect Parliament Speaker

Tehran, July 3, IRNA -- The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq, Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, expresses his regret that Iraq’s newly elected Council of Representatives was not able to reach an agreement on naming a new Speaker on Tuesday. “Politicians in Iraq need to realize that it is no longer business as usual”, Mladenov said in Baghdad, according to UN Information Center in Tehran. “On April 30th the people of Iraq came out to vote and elect a new Council of Representatives that is called upon to show national unity and urgently address the vast political, security, humanitarian and social problems that face the country”, he noted, adding that “any delay or failure to observe the deadlines set by the Constitution will be detrimental to the country’s integrity”. “I call upon all political leaders to set aside their differences and, in a spirit of compromise, elect a Speaker during the next session due to be held on 8 July 2014. This step will allow Parliament to elect a new President, move forward on the government formation process and engage in resolving the legitimate concerns that various communities have”, Mladenov emphasized./end