Iraqi parliament approves provincial elections law

[5711-Marine]

Dem talking point on no political reconciliation pronounced Dead on September 24th 2008

Iraqi parliament approves provincial elections law

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA – 1 day ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's parliament overwhelmingly approved a provincial elections law Wednesday, overcoming months of deadlock and giving a boost to U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts.

Also Wednesday, gunmen opened fire on a group of Iraqi policemen and members of a so-called awakening council northeast of Baghdad, killing 22, the U.S. military said.

U.S. officials have complained privately that Iraqi politicians have failed to take advantage of the sharp drop in violence — down 80 percent since last year, according to the U.S. military — to forge lasting power-sharing agreements.

The legislation had been bogged down in a complex dispute between Arabs and Kurds over power sharing in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which Kurds seek to incorporate into their semiautonomous region.

Lawmakers acknowledged the delay in passing the measure would make it difficult for the electoral commission to organize the vote and pushed back the deadline for it to be held until Jan. 31, 2009.

The measure still needs to be approved by the three-member presidential panel led by President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd who vetoed the last attempt by parliament to push through a measure despite a Kurdish walkout.

But Kurdish legislators agreed to the latest proposal, suggesting presidential approval was more likely.

Agreement was reached after Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish and Turkomen lawmakers adopted a U.N. compromise to form a parliamentary committee to review disputes regarding Kirkuk separately so the elections could go ahead elsewhere.

Kurdish lawmaker Khalid Shewani said his bloc was reassured that the committee would review property disputes in Kirkuk and would work in accordance with the Iraqi constitution.

"We succeeded with this committee to resolve a question that had been complicated for some four months," he said. "Every side had fears but these fears have disappeared after the inclusion of legal guarantees.

"We thank God that we reached this agreement," he added.

The new law requires the committee to make recommendations for separate legislation on Kirkuk by March 2009. It also banned political parties from using religious authorities, mosques and government institutions as part of campaigning.

A State Department spokesman in Washington congratulated the Iraqi parliament for passing the law.

"We think this is a positive sign, and it certainly shows a maturing Iraqi democracy," deputy spokesman Robert Wood. "And we hope that there will be provincial elections held as soon as possible, certainly before the end of the year."

Asked whether exemption of Kirkuk and northern provinces from the election was a disappointment, Wood said "these are issues that have to be worked out by the Iraqis themselves."

U.N. envoy Staffan di Mistura, who has shuttled relentlessly between the political blocs to pressure them to approve the law, told The Associated Press that preparations for the vote would begin immediately.

"Today is an important day for Iraq and democracy as the parliament found a compromise over election law," he said. "This will help Iraq and Iraqis to express their opinions by voting for their candidates in the provinces."

Parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, said the law's passage showed that Iraq's fractured ethnic and religious groups could work together.

"In the past, Kirkuk was the mother of all troubles, but today it has become the symbol of Iraqi unity," he said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials believe the elections are an essential step to building a long-term peace among the country's rival religious and ethnic communities.

Voters will choose provincial councils in 14 provinces, which wield considerable power at the local level.

Excluded from the legislation were the three provinces that comprise the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq since they're governed by the Kurdish parliament, as well as Tamim province, which includes Kirkuk.

A senior electoral official, Faraj al-Haidari, said it could take four to five months after the law is adopted to finalize preparations for the vote. He said work such as staff training and selecting voting centers had been completed.

Many Sunnis and some Shiites boycotted the last provincial election, in January 2005, enabling Shiite religious parties and the Kurds to win a disproportionate share of power.

The vote had been due to be held as early as Oct. 1, then the date was pushed to the end of December while U.N. and Iraqi officials have warned continued deadlock could force it to be postponed until next year.

In Wednesday's ambush, the gunmen in the insurgent stronghold of Othmaniyah opened fire when the Iraqi forces arrived. The U.S. military said 14 national policemen and eight members of a U.S.-allied Sunni group had been killed.

Amir Rafat, a member of the Diyala provincial council, blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attack. He said the attackers also suffered casualties, but gave no numbers.

Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.

[adymond]

Post to be deleted due to extreme legal pressure on owners of the forum by a team of lawyers from Chicago. Stay tuned.

I doubt our guys would ever submit to that, but I don't see it as being to far from reality that it is attempted.

[Kenshin]

Post to be deleted due to extreme legal pressure on owners of the forum by a team of lawyers from Chicago. Stay tuned.

I doubt our guys would ever submit to that, but I don't see it as being to far from reality that it is attempted.

?????

We must be spreading too much truth.