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Iraq`s Governing Council meets to discuss appointing ministers
Baghdad, July 21: Iraq`s US-appointed Governing Council convened today to discuss appointing an interim ministers to key portfolios, a spokesman for the 25-member executive said.
Baghdad, July 21: Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council convened today to discuss appointing an interim ministers to key portfolios, a spokesman for the 25-member executive said.
The council met behind closed doors at its headquarters, the former ministry for military industry in central Baghdad, spokesman Mohaned Abdul Jabbar said.
The council, which held its inaugural session on July 13, has already come under fierce criticism by both Shiite and Sunni Muslim groups which claim it is illegitimate, and have demanded the formation of a directly elected body.
The first executive Iraqi council to be established since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime comprises a roughly representative mix of Iraq's ethic and religious groups and is charged with mapping the course towards elections.
The top US civil administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, reiterated yesterday at the beginning of a week-long visit to the United States that elections could be held to form a sovereign Iraqi government within a year.
The US-led coalition said in June that elections would not be held for at least one year, but no later than within two years.
The first step towards elections will be for the governing council to appoint a committee to draw up a draft constitution.
Bremer has repeatedly said that early direct elections would be premature in Iraq, citing a panoply of objections including a lack of constitution, constituency boundaries, electoral law and voting register.
Bureau Report
The council, which held its inaugural session on July 13, has already come under fierce criticism by both Shiite and Sunni Muslim groups which claim it is illegitimate, and have demanded the formation of a directly elected body.
The first executive Iraqi council to be established since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime comprises a roughly representative mix of Iraq's ethic and religious groups and is charged with mapping the course towards elections.
The top US civil administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, reiterated yesterday at the beginning of a week-long visit to the United States that elections could be held to form a sovereign Iraqi government within a year.
The US-led coalition said in June that elections would not be held for at least one year, but no later than within two years.
The first step towards elections will be for the governing council to appoint a committee to draw up a draft constitution.
Bremer has repeatedly said that early direct elections would be premature in Iraq, citing a panoply of objections including a lack of constitution, constituency boundaries, electoral law and voting register.
Bureau Report