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AROUND THE WORLD 2: Iraq’s National Assembly Meets

On Wednesday, March 16, 2005, members of Iraq’s first National Assembly convened in Baghdad. This marks a new era in Iraqi government since the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein.

Of the 275 members who took their oaths, 85 were women.

Because of insurgents and the fear of suicide bombings, many streets were blocked off. Still, Iraqis were able to watch the ceremony at home on live Arab television.

Members of the Assembly were elected on January 30, 2005, in the country’s first ever government elections. Over 40 people were killed by insurgents, but many Iraqis appeared in public to exercise their right to vote.

At the end of their first meeting, the Assembly still had not elected a speaker, nominated a president or selected a date to meet again, but they did celebrate the obstacles the nation has overcome and promised to protect Iraq’s “federal democratic system,” and “public and private liberties.”

--Written by Leigh Brescia

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