BAGHDAD, Iraq, AP -Iraq’s new parliament was sworn in Thursday with parties still deadlocked over the next government, vehicles banned from Baghdad’s streets to prevent car bombings and the country under the shadow of a feared civil war.

The long-awaited first session lasted just over 30 minutes and was adjourned because there still was no agreement on a permanent speaker for the legislature or on his deputies.

Members stood together and pledged to “preserve the independence and the sovereignty of Iraq and to take care of the interests of its people.”

The head of the committee that drafted the country’s new constitution, Humam Hammoudi, then stood up and protested two words had been changed in the agreed oath. But after brief consultations, judicial officials agreed the wording was acceptable and the session adjourned until further notice.