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Kurd Parliament Elects Barzani as President
 The Kurdish Parliament in northern Iraq yesterday elected veteran leader Massoud Barzani as president of the region, giving the group greater autonomy after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein. Adnan Al-Mufti, speaker of the Kurdish Parliament, told a news conference that parliament unanimously elected Barzani, whose longtime rival Jalal Talabani, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, became Iraq's president earlier this year. Barzani, head of the once rival Kurdistan Democratic Party, will be formally sworn in tomorrow because poor weather prevented officials from flying to the region from Baghdad for a ceremony yesterday, officials said. After months of wrangling following an election at the same time as national voting on Jan. 30, the show of support for Barzani in the new post strengthens the Kurds' grip on the north of Iraq and may bolster their bid to ensure they maintain their autonomy once a new constitution is drawn up in Baghdad.Posted by: Fred 2005-06-13 |
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