Iraqi election hopes boosted
Wednesday, 24 Sep 2008 19:16
Iraqi parliament passes law allowing provincial elections to go ahead
Hopes that provincial elections will go ahead in Iraq have been boosted by the news that the nation's parliament has passed a law to allow polling to take place.
After months of wrangling over the methods that should be used and how the northern city of Kirkuk would be dealt with, the main national parliament has passed the law according to a senior MP.
Salim al-Jubouri, a member of the Sunni Arab Accordance Front, told the Al Jazeera news agency that the law had been ratified by the main elected body and it would now be sent to the three-member presidency council, headed by President Jalal Talabani.
Mr Talabani has already rejected one version earlier this year because it was boycotted by Kurdish parties and some Shia MPs.
But it is expected this new legislation will have a greater chance of ratification because it was passed unanimously in the house after concessions were made over the Kirkuk issues.
If the law is passed by the presidency council, it would be a major step towards holding national elections by the self-imposed deadline of January 1st 2009.
Originally, the poll was scheduled to take place on October 1st but had to be put back because of the disagreements.