Iraqi Parliament
Approves New Electoral Law
The
Parliament in Baghdad has unanimously approved a new electoral
law, paving the way for elections early next year.
Iraqi Parliamentarians were called to vote in a special
late-night session to try to end a political crisis and they
voted minutes before the midnight deadline.
The deputy speaker of parliament said an election should take
place on 27 February, but it was unclear whether this would be
possible.
The new law is said to have been brokered by the UN and the US
embassy.
Polls originally scheduled for 16 January had been delayed due
to problems with the election law.
Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiya say of the votes, ’’This is
wonderful and a huge achievement for Iraq, now the way is paved
to conduct the election at a date to be determined by the
presidency council.’’
Last week, the United Nations said a new feasible election date
was 27th February.
Expanded parliament
Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi had vetoed the previous
version of the law, saying it did not provide enough seats for
the country's Sunni minority.
Following the parliamentary vote, he formally withdrew his veto
of the election law and praised the new amendment as providing a
fairer deal for Iraq's minorities.
Mr Attiya said the new parliament will be expanded from the
current 275 seats to 325.
About 4 million Sunnis fled the country to escape violence that
erupted after the US-led invasion.
Reaction
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the US welcomed the
new resolution.
’’This legislative action will allow Iraq to hold national
elections within Iraq's constitutional framework,’’ Gibbs said.
Debate over the electoral law had also centred on the northern,
oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which is disputed between Arabs, Kurds
and Turkmen.
The election is seen as a prerequisite to the US meeting its
goal of pulling out combat troops by August next year and
withdrawing fully by the Year 2012.
REUTERS/Yinka
