Iraq electoral law passes, sets up national vote

The law's passage had been repeatedly delayed by sharp disagreements over how voting would take place in the northern city of Kirkuk, claimed by both Arabs and Kurds and a major flashpoint in the country.

Kurds consider Kirkuk a Kurdish city and want it part of their self-ruled region in northern Iraq. During the rule of former dictator Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced under a forced plan by Saddam to make Kirkuk predominantly Arab, though many of these have since returned.

The Arab-led central government vehemently opposes anything that would remove Kirkuk from its control.

Under the legislation passed Sunday, the vote in Kirkuk would be held just like in other regions around the country, but the votes — and those in other disputed areas — could be subject to a special review if it is determined that there was a large population increase. Arabs and the Turkomens claim Kurds have packed the city with immigrants to tip the balance in their favor.

The legislation did not include any guaranteed seats for Arab and Turkomen lawmakers from Kirkuk, something which had been discussed in earlier versions.

Both Kurds and Arabs appeared to claim victory after the sometimes raucous parliament session that was televised live on Iraq state TV.

"This is a good law because it occurred after broad agreement, and it presents a solution to a problem that we have now solved. It doesn't achieve all our (Kurdish) ambitions, but it achieves a balance," said Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker.

But Omar al-Jabouri, a Sunni member of parliament, called the voting "a great victory," because, he said, Kurds were forced to accept special circumstances in regards to the Kirkuk voting.

The law passed with 141 votes, but it was not immediately known how many of the parliament's 275 members voted against the legislation or even attended the session. Low turnouts are common in Iraq's parliament, which often does not have enough people to form the necessary 138-person quorum.

"It's a good step that we have a resolution to this and have elections," said Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst at the New York-based Century Foundation.

However, he added that the disputes such as the long-brewing debate over the election law, have paralyzed Iraq's political process and "have shown that it's incapable of solving the big questions," such as how to deal with disputed territories.

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