dawn after politicians break year-long deadlock

Iraq is at a crossroads. For more than a year, the country has been without a properly functioning government, as politicians failed to agree on who to lead it.

And in recent months, the capital Baghdad has been gripped by deadly clashes.

On Thursday, parliament took a key step towards forming a government by electing a new president, Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid.

He immediately designated Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Shia Muslim nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc, to be prime minister. He will have a month to form a government.

But there have been many false dawns over the past year.

And at a Baghdad market, many people are sceptical about the future. They believe all politicians are serving their own ends.

Political conflicts in Iraq are unlike those in any other country. They is always a risk of them descending into chaos. Weapons here are largely out of the government's control, and all the main political rivals are armed to the teeth.

'Who will protect us?'

Mustafa Rahim is a wealthy merchant, who owns a multi-million dollar wholesale business.

He has laid off nearly one third of his workers over the past year. He tells me his sales have dropped by 70%. Uncertainty is his business's worst enemy.