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| Iraq |
| Iraq vote delay likely after veto on election law |
| 2009-11-18 |
| Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president vetoed part of a key election law Wednesday, a move that could delay national polls slated for January even as the top U.S. commander in Iraq said the timetable for American troop drawdown is on track. The veto, slammed by Iraq's Shiite prime minister as a threat to democracy, will most likely delay the vote since parliament must now discuss Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's demands and take a vote on them, a process that could take days or even weeks given the legislature's fractious nature and its track record. Already, the country's election commission said it has suspended preparations for the vote. A further complication arose Tuesday when Kurdish leaders threatened to boycott the election unless the three northern provinces they control are given more seats in the next, 223-seat parliament. Al-Hashemi has sent part of the law back to parliament to be amended so that more seats will be allocated for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are Sunni Arabs. Al-Hashemi said all other provisions in the law are satisfactory, and stressed that only the part related to the number of seats for voters abroad will be open for discussion. |
| Posted by:ed |