BAGHDAD: A majority in Parliament voted Monday in favor of a resolution to remove their speaker, Mahmoud Mashadani, in the coming days, underscoring widespread discontent with a Sunni Arab politician who has done little to build consensus among Iraq's political blocs.

Of the 168 Parliament members present at the session, 113 voted in favor of the resolution, which accepted a pledge from the Sunni Arab coalition that had backed Mashadani that he would submit his resignation when a replacement was found. In the meantime, Mashadani, who is known for his violent outbursts, will be on leave.

Among those who voted to remove the speaker were Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

"What happened today made obvious the dynamic of democracy in Iraq," said Hassan Sinead, a member of Parliament from the Shiite Dawa party. "The Parliament today had a peaceful, impartial, a democratic operation" to remove the speaker.

"The view of all the blocs in the Parliament was that Mashadani made the process complicated and decreased the harmony," he added...."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/11/africa/iraq.php