Iraq parliament fails to convene for election law debate - Summary

Baghdad - Iraq's parliament failed Saturday to convene the required number of legislators for a session to discuss details of a law covering voting in the 2010 parliamentary polls, an official said. According to the parliamentary official, who requested anonymity, the debate would now be postponed until Sunday.

Omar al-Mashhadani, a spokesman for parliament, had earlier told Sabah newspaper that a debate - without a vote - would take place on the distribution of parliamentary seats for the different provinces, including seats for minorities.

Some lawmakers had, however, predicted Friday that not enough enough members of the house would show up to fill the required quorum, as Shiite Muslims were still celebrating a holiday.

In the balance, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, must decide whether to veto a new version of the law by Sunday.

Reports have said backdoor negotiations continued based on both Iraqi proposals and one submitted by the United Nations.

After Hashami first vetoed the legislation in November on the grounds that he wanted to ensure more representation for displaced Iraqis, most of whom are thought to be Sunnis, parliament returned a new version of the law that Sunni lawmakers complained would further reduce their voice in the new parliament.

The ruling coalition, which is dominated by Shiite and Kurdish parties, says it has enough votes to overturn al-Hashemi's veto, should he choose to use it a second time.

A session next week at parliament is set to see a vote, with legislators predicting the elections will be set for March, though originally Iraqis were supposed to go to the polls in January.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/297936,iraq-parliament-fails-to-convene-for-election-law-debate--summary.html.