Iraqi parliament passes provincial elections law

Baghdad: Iraqi parliament passed a provincial elections law on Wednesday, following months of bickering between Arabs and Kurds, lawmakers said.

The announcement raises the possibility that local polls will be held before the end of the year.

The polls were initially scheduled for October 1 but the law governing determining the voting procedure stalled in parliament over how to treat the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, where control is disputed by Kurds, Arabs and ethnic Turkmen.

Iraq's three-member presidency council, headed by President Jalal Talabani will now have to approve the law before it can go into effect.

Salim Al Jubouri, a senior lawmaker from the Sunni Arab Accordance Front, said the law had been passed unanimously.

He said all sides had made concessions on Kirkuk, adding there would be a separate law for dealing with elections in Kirkuk as well as a power sharing formula for the city's administration.