Rival ethnic groups elected an interim council to govern Iraq's third largest city today in the country's first vote since Saddam Hussein was ousted by US-led forces last month.
Amid applause from the assembled delegates, the 24 council members were sworn in by Mosul's chief judge in front of US Major General David Petraeus, who sat on a podium beneath an Iraqi flag. Petraeus is in charge of US forces in northwest Iraq.
"We swear to preserve the unity of this land and protect its interests," the council members said in unison, standing in front of nine ballot boxes used by the delegations as soldiers looked on from the fringes of the US -coordinated meeting.
The US military maintained tight security for the 250 delegates who gathered at the Mosul Social Club, where the council was set to elect a mayor for the city and the surrounding province from three independent candidates during the afternoon.
As the delegations chose their representatives, several of them announced to the media that they were withdrawing from the election in protest at the fact that delegates were divided along ethnic lines.
Petraeus said he believed the protesting delegates were radical Islamists who did not believe in representative government.
The council consists of seven Arabs, three Kurds, two Assyrian Christians, one Turkmen and one Shebak from inside the city, and six Arabs, one Yezidi and one Assyrian Christian from outside the city, along with two former generals.
Mosul is mainly Arab with a large Kurdish minority as well as Turkmens, Assyrians and other groups. The ethnic mix fueled fears of factional fighting after a wave of looting and violence last month, but military officials are now holding it up as "model city."
"By being here today you are participating in the birth of the democratic process in Iraq," Petraeus told delegates at the opening ceremony. "This is a historic occasion and an important step forward for Mosul and Iraq."
One delegate who walked out complained that the council included corrupt officials who had served under Saddam and new leaders with little popular support.
"People are watching this closely, although there are different dynamics in each city. These people are recognized as leaders by their groups even if they are not elected and it is quite an achievement to have reached this stage in 12 days," said US military spokesman Major Trey Cate.