The bickering exposed tensions in the newly formed parliament, with outgoing interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi storming out of the session, followed by interim President Ghazi al-Yawer - who turned down the speaker's job.
"What are we going to tell the brave citizens who sacrificed their lives and cast ballots on January 30?" asked Hussein al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, as well as a member of Allawi's coalition.
The short session - mostly held behind closed doors after a delay - adjourned until this weekend. Al-Sadr said the parliament speaker would likely be chosen on Sunday, giving Sunni Arab lawmakers time to come up with a candidate.
"We saw that things were confused today, so we gave them a last chance," al-Sadr said. "We expect the Sunni Arab brothers to nominate their candidate. Otherwise, we will vote on a candidate on Sunday."
Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni representatives were trying to pick a name for the Sunni Arab candidate legislators promised would be announced during yesterday's session.
Once it began, lawmakers immediately began arguing over whether to delay their decision, and the leader of the session decided to kick out reporters and cameras and close the meeting to the public.
"We demand to know the details of what's happening behind the scenes!" one woman shouted before the live television feed of the gathering went blank.
Sunni arab lawmaker Meshaan al-Jubouri called for a decision, saying: "There are voices calling for electing the speaker today. This cannot be."
"This is ridiculous," he said as he left the meeting hall.
Earlier, al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, turned down the speaker post, despite pressure to take the job.
"We have apologized for practical reasons," said al-Yawer, who is seeking one of the country's two vice presidential spots. "With the small number of Sunni Arabs in the assembly, this post won't put us in a position to strike a balance."
Under saddam Hussein, the minority Sunnis dominated all levels of government. Meanwhile, French authorities have "reassuring information" about a journalist held hostage in Iraq, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said yesterday.
"We now have contacts that appear to have stabilized, which allows us to have some hope," Raffarin told lawmakers in Paris. He spoke during a question and answer session at the National Assembly, responding to a question by Speaker Jean-Louis Debre.
Debre planned to gather parliamentarians today at the Trocadero Square to call for the captors to free Florence Aubenas, and her guide, Hussein Hanoun.
Aubenas, of the daily newspaper Liberation, and Hanoun were kidnapped on January 5 in Iraq. The first public sign of life came on March 1 with the release of a video showing a pale Aubenas pleading for help.
(The Associated Press)
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