Iraqi parliament approves provincial elections law

IRAQ:THE IRAQI parliament yesterday overcame months of deadlock by adopting a provincial election law.

Passage of the measure by 191 members in the 275-seat assembly was hailed by speaker Mahmud al-Mashandani, who declared: "The law is what the Iraqi people wanted, and not what the politicians wanted."

The elections, originally set for October 1st, should take place in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces before the end of January.

The legislation introduces an open-list system, allowing voters to select specific candidates, rather than the closed-list system restricting them to political parties or coalitions. In 2005 the names of many candidates were not made public for security reasons.

Lawmakers adopted the measure after accepting a UN-brokered compromise providing for postponement of elections in the three northern Kurdish provinces and oil-rich Tamim. Its capital is Kirkuk, disputed by Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen. A committee of representatives of the three communities will organise balloting in Tamim after March 2009.

The law requires approval by the three-member presidential council, headed by president Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who vetoed the last draft of the Bill passed by the assembly after a walk-out by Kurdish members.

They objected to the power-sharing arrangement giving Kirkuk's three communities equal representation on the provincial council. The law was then sent back to parliament for reconsideration. This is unlikely to happen now as the Kurds have approved the new Kirkuk formula.

UN envoy Staffan di Mistura, who mediated the compromise, said arrangements for the countrywide polls would begin immediately. "This is an important day. The Iraqi people will now have a chance to express their own opinion and [ cast] their own vote about who is going to lead them at the provincial level."

Many Sunnis and Shias boycotted the previous provincial polls, enabling Shia fundamentalist and Kurdish parties to take power, leaving Sunnis and followers of dissident Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr without a say at the provincial level in areas where Sunnis and Sadrists are the majority.

Tensions could erupt ahead of polling day in the south, where Sadrists are engaged in a power struggle with Shia parties.