Iraq parliament to reconvene on Tuesday

BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament will reconvene on Tuesday to vote in a speaker and two deputies as negotiations continue on the lineup of a new government, a senior Shiite politician involved in coalition talks with the Kurds said Friday.
"The assembly will reconvene at 11:00 am (0800 GMT) on Tuesday and we have agreed on nominating a speaker and two deputies and until then we will work on forming the government," Jawad al-Maliki told.
"If we come to an agreement by then on the government, then it too would be put to a vote in the national assembly. If not, then we would continue our talks and the assembly would go about its normal business."
Parliament held its inaugural session on March 16 but nearly eight weeks after landmark elections the Shiite and Kurdish alliances have yet to reach agreement on a new governing coalition.