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WORLD> Middle East
Iraq vote delay likely after veto on election law
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-19 01:46

Qassim al-Aboudi, a member of Iraq's electoral commission, said al-Hashemi's move will likely push back the election date and that the commission has suspended its preparations for the vote.

"The situation is very difficult, and it is clear now that this will affect the commission's procedures and for sure will push the elections back," al-Aboudi said.

A member of the parliamentary legal committee, Kurdish lawmaker Khalid Shwani, said the committee will study al-Hashemi's suggested changes as soon as they receive them.

"If we received it today, then we will study the suggestions starting tomorrow and then we will put the article to a vote," Shwani told The Associated Press.

"I can't put a specific timetable on the vote because it will depend on how long the discussions take."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki slammed al-Hashemi's decision to veto the bill, calling it "a serious threat to the political process and democracy."

"It has no solid constitutional basis," a statement on the premier's Web site said. "The high national interests were not taken into consideration," said the prime minister, who has been locked in a bitter rivalry with al-Hashemi since al-Maliki took office in May 2006.

Al-Maliki also urged parties to forge ahead with their election preparations.

Dominant for decades under Saddam, Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs have felt politically marginalized since the former dictator's ouster in 2003. They boycotted the first post-Saddam national elections in January 2005, and al-Hashemi's demands appear to stem from Sunni fears of being sidelined once again.

Lawmakers haggled for weeks over the election legislation before finally passing it on Nov. 8, much to the relief of Iraqi political leaders and the United States, which pushed hard for a deal.

Little more than a week later, the hard-fought agreement appears to be crumbling. Iraq's Kurds have also demanded changes to the law to ensure more seats for Kurdish regions in parliament, and on Tuesday threatened to boycott the elections unless their demands were met.

That ultimatum, coupled with al-Hashemi's move on Wednesday, could undermine Iraq's fledgling democracy and trigger a constitutional crisis if the vote is not held by the end of January.

The top US commander in Iraq said Wednesday that Washington's plans to withdraw all combat troops by the end of August 2010 remain on track despite the dispute over the election law.

US commanders have tied the withdrawal to the national vote.

Gen. Raymond Odierno told a news conference that the military can adjust its plans if the need arises, but that no decision has to be made before late spring.

"We're set up and we're flexible enough between now and the first of May," he said.

US military officials have said they will begin to draw down forces about 60 days after the election, hoping for assurances by then that Iraq is on stable footing.

Under a plan by President Barack Obama, all US combat personnel must be out of Iraq by the end of August 2010. The rest of the troops, such as trainers and support personnel, must leave by the end of 2011.

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