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Iraqi Parliament Approves Provincial Elections Law
After months of impasse, Iraq's parliament passed a provincial elections law Wednesday that paves the way for elections in most parts of the country by Jan. 31 and could help bolster efforts at national reconciliation. But Iraqi lawmakers decided to postpone debate over one of the most contentious issues facing Iraq -- a dispute among ethnic Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen over power sharing in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The legislators also decided to delay discussions over how to best achieve political representation for Iraq's Christians and other minorities. The legislation was approved only after Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen lawmakers agreed to a U.N.-brokered compromise that calls for a parliamentary committee to review the status of Kirkuk, which the Kurds seek to incorporate into their autonomous region in northern Iraq. So for now, elections will be held in 14 Iraqi provinces by Jan. 31, 2009, lawmakers said, acknowledging that it would be difficult to hold any elections this year, as originally scheduled. Not included in the legislation were three provinces in the Kurdish region and Tamim province, of which Kirkuk is the capital. Iraq's three-member Presidency Council led by Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, still needs to approve the vote. He vetoed the last attempt by parliament to pass a measure, but this time the presidency was expected to approve it. Posted by: Fred 2008-09-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=250950 |