Iraqi political parties have reached an agreement toward forming a government, ending several months of political deadlock that followed the country’s inconclusive elections in March, news agencies report. Jalal Talabani, the newly re-elected president, has reappointed Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister, BBCsays. This progress was welcomed by international leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The voting procedures leading to Maliki and Talabani’s reinstatement were, however, marred by a walkout of some members of the main Sunni-backed alliance, al-Iraqiya, who wanted a motion removing the stigma of Baathism to be passed before the election of a president. Four key al-Iraqiya leaders have been banned from taking political office because of their alleged connection with Saddam Hussein’s Baath party, BBC explains.
