Saddam's son Uday attends parliamentary session

President Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday attended a parliamentary session last evening, his first appearance since he won a seat in elections held on March 27.

Uday won his seat in a vote in which 522 candidates were competing for 220 seats in the 250-seat chamber. All 165 candidates of the ruling Baath party were successful, as were 55 independents.

Baghdad said the government had appointed 30 deputies to represent rebel Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, where no elections took place. Northern Iraq has been outside the control of the central government since soon after the 1991 Gulf war over Kuwait.

During the session, Uday presented a summary of a paper which he submitted to the National Assembly on parliament's performance and his views about pluralism and democratic practices. "Our stage might be a transitional one and we hope it would be a transitional one towards achieving pluralism and democratic freedom," Uday said.