BAGHDAD, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- As the Aug. 31 deadline is just around the corner for U.S. troops to end their seven-year combat mission in Iraq, many Iraqis begin to worry about the security situation in their country after the U.S. pullout.
The following is the evolution of the political process in Iraq in the past seven years.
Iraq's political reconstruction began after Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion on March 20, 2003.
The U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council, which was formed in July 2003, was replaced by the Iraqi Interim Government in June 2004 when the United States and its coalition allies handed over power to the Iraqis.
Later in August, an interim National Assembly of 100 members was formed at the Iraqi national conference. Its main task was to supervise the interim government and make preparations for the election of a transitional parliament in January 2005.
The election of the transition National Assembly was held on Jan. 30, 2005. More than 8 million Iraqis, some 60 percent of the total eligible voters, took part in the elections to choose a transitional parliament, in the first voting after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.
The Iraqi Transitional Government was formed on May 3, 2005, but the Shiite- and Kurdish-dominated interim government failed to stamp out violence by insurgents and the al-Qaida terror group in the country.
