Region | Iraq
Iraq parliament passes provincial elections Bill
Iraq's parliament passed a provincial elections Bill on Tuesday but a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers over the disputed oil city of Kirkuk could mean the law may not be ratified by the presidency.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:03 July 23, 2008
Baghdad: Iraq's parliament passed a provincial elections Bill on Tuesday but a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers over the disputed oil city of Kirkuk could mean the law may not be ratified by the presidency.
Kurds make up one of the three main groups in parliament, and their boycott of the vote over a dispute on how the elections law would deal with Kirkuk means the bill could be sent back to parliament.
The law is meant to pave the way for polls seen as vital to reconciling Iraq's Sunni Arabs, who boycotted the last provincial elections in 2005, with its other communities.
"Today parliament passed the provincial elections law, in the absence of the Kurdish alliance, which walked out," said Hanin Qado, a lawmaker from the ruling Shiite alliance.
Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Khalid Al Attiya cast doubt on whether a law passed without the Kurds present would even be ratified by Iraq's presidency council - which must approve all laws.
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