30, 2005. The United Iraqi Alliance Party won the majority of seats with 48% of the popular vote resulting in 140 seats. Eighty-five members of the assembly were women. Talks between the UIA and other parties to form a coalition government began soon after the election. The assembly had its first meeting on March 16, 2005. After weeks of negotiations between the dominant political parties, on April 4, 2005, Sunni Arab Hajim al-Hassani was chosen as speaker; Shiite Hussain Shahristani and Kurd Aref Taifour were elected as his top deputies. The Assembly elected Jalal Talabani to head the Presidency Council on April 6, and approved the selection of Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his cabinet on April 28. The Constitution of 2005 Under the permanent constitution approved on October 15, 2005, legislative authority is vested in two bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union. The Council of Representatives consists of 325 members elected for four years, with two sessions in each annual term. The Council passes federal laws, oversees the executive, ratifies treaties, and approves nominations of specified officials. It elects the president of the republic, who selects a prime minister from the majority coalition in the Council. (During an initial period, a three-member Presidential Council elected by the Council of Representatives will carry out the duties of the president of the republic.) Elections for the Council of Representatives were held on December 15, 2005. The Council first met on March 16, 2006, exactly one year after the first meeting of the transitional assembly. The Council of Representatives of Iraq has the same name in Arabic (مجلس النواب, Majlis an-Nuwwab) as the lower legislative houses of Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, and Yemen, and as the unicameral legislatures of Lebanon and Tunisia. However, a number of different English terms are used to refer to these bodies. The Council of Union, or Federation Council (Majlis al-Ittihad), will consist of representatives from Iraq's regions and governorates. Its precise composition and responsibilities are not defined in the constitution and will be determined by the Council of Representatives. As of 2021, no concrete steps have been made towards establishing the proposed upper house. 2007 Iraqi Parliament bombing On, April 12, 2007, Mohammed Awad, a political party member of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council, was killed at the convention centre canteen of the parliament building, and 22 were wounded, in the 2007 Iraqi Parliament Bombing. 2007