Politics
Iraq: Elections in doubt as MPs approve poll law
Baghdad, 23 Nov. (AKI) - Iraqi MPs on Monday approved a law to hold elections next year, but it's not clear whether they will go ahead. The parliament failed to override a veto by Iraq's Sunni Arab vice-president Tariq al-Hashemi, al-Arabiya satellite television channel reported.
Instead, the MPs sent an amended law back to the Iraqi presidential council for approval.
Sunni MPs boycotted Monday's vote and parliamentarians close to al-Hashemi said he could veto the law again.
A further veto by al-Hashemi could delay the general election slated for January and jeopardise the US plans to withdraw non-combat troops next year.
Monday's vote followed a week of renewed debate after al- Hashemi last week vetoed an earlier electoral law passed earlier this month, saying he wanted 15 per cent of seats to be chosen by expatriate Iraqis, most of whom are believed to be Sunni Muslims.
The amended law passed on Monday provides for 10 per cent of seats in the new parliament to be chosen by absentee voters, al-Arabiya reported.
It includes new clauses that give Iraqis inside and outside the country equal status as voters.
The new law is based on population figures from 2005 when the last elections were held, but,this figure has been increased by 2.8 percent annually in every province to allow for population growth.
Sunnia Arab MPs object to the use of 2005 data, on the grounds this would reduce their representation in parliament and their clout.
It also did not increase the number of seats allocated to minorities, internally displaced people and refugees.
The Kurdish regional government objected to the use of the trade ministry's statistics because they resulted in a net loss of seats representing the three provinces that together make up their semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq.
The KRG threatened to boycott the polls if the number of seats from the semi-autonomous Kurdish provinces was not increased. The parliament should have one MP per 100,000 Iraqis, according to Iraq's constitution.
No population census has been carried out but some fear it could force a crisis over disputed territories around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul by clarifying the ethnic makeup of those areas.
Iraq's electoral commission said last Wednesday it was suspending preparations for elections due to take place on 18 January until the controversy over al-Hashemi's veto was resolved.
The January election is seen as a key test of Iraq's fledgling democracy with the planned US withdrawal of combat troops from the country by the end of August next year and a complete US troops withdrawal planned by the end of 2011.
Instead, the MPs sent an amended law back to the Iraqi presidential council for approval.
Sunni MPs boycotted Monday's vote and parliamentarians close to al-Hashemi said he could veto the law again.
A further veto by al-Hashemi could delay the general election slated for January and jeopardise the US plans to withdraw non-combat troops next year.
Monday's vote followed a week of renewed debate after al- Hashemi last week vetoed an earlier electoral law passed earlier this month, saying he wanted 15 per cent of seats to be chosen by expatriate Iraqis, most of whom are believed to be Sunni Muslims.
The amended law passed on Monday provides for 10 per cent of seats in the new parliament to be chosen by absentee voters, al-Arabiya reported.
It includes new clauses that give Iraqis inside and outside the country equal status as voters.
The new law is based on population figures from 2005 when the last elections were held, but,this figure has been increased by 2.8 percent annually in every province to allow for population growth.
Sunnia Arab MPs object to the use of 2005 data, on the grounds this would reduce their representation in parliament and their clout.
It also did not increase the number of seats allocated to minorities, internally displaced people and refugees.
The Kurdish regional government objected to the use of the trade ministry's statistics because they resulted in a net loss of seats representing the three provinces that together make up their semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq.
The KRG threatened to boycott the polls if the number of seats from the semi-autonomous Kurdish provinces was not increased. The parliament should have one MP per 100,000 Iraqis, according to Iraq's constitution.
No population census has been carried out but some fear it could force a crisis over disputed territories around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul by clarifying the ethnic makeup of those areas.
Iraq's electoral commission said last Wednesday it was suspending preparations for elections due to take place on 18 January until the controversy over al-Hashemi's veto was resolved.
The January election is seen as a key test of Iraq's fledgling democracy with the planned US withdrawal of combat troops from the country by the end of August next year and a complete US troops withdrawal planned by the end of 2011.
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