Iraqi MPs vote for the Election Law
The Iraqi parliament voted yesterday, by a majority of 133 of the 190 members present, to amend the election law, following the veto of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.
The parliament voted to offer the president's council (the president and his two vice presidents) two options: one option, submitted by the Shi'a and the Kurds, would allow voters, inside and outside Iraq, to vote for their provinces or for the candidates of their choice.
There will be one seat for every 100,000 citizens, based on the record of rationing cards kept by the Ministry of Trade. At the behest of the Kurds, who threatened to boycott the elections otherwise, the parliament also voted to account for population increase since the last elections in 2005, by adding 2.8 percent to top up the number of voters as currently registered in the food rationing system. There will be 5% of compensatory seats to be allocated to the political groups proportionately to the seats they gain in the general elections.
The second option, proposed by the U.N. and supported by the Sunnis and the Iraqi list headed by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, calls for allocating 10% of the seats for Iraqis living abroad.
The Sunni parties stormed out of the session, calling the vote a comedy, and hinted that Vice President Al-Hashemi will use his constitutional right to veto the law for the second and last time. At least in the short term, the fate of the election law is back in the hands of Al-Hashemi, who is expected to veto both options.
While MPs were seeking comprises on the sidelines, the ambassadors of the U.S. and U.K were seen in parliament talking to the various factions. At the same time, Iranian Majlis speaker Ali Larijani met yesterday in Tehran with Iraqi clergy leaders and tribal chiefs and urged them to participate heavily in the elections.
Iraqi observers have commented that if the question of seat redistribution among provinces is reopened, there is no way of guessing when it will be closed. The fate of the elections remains in the balance. [In the meantime, everyone is taking the liberty to meddle in Iraqi internal affairs.]
Sources: Al-Zaman, Al-Sabah, Al-Mada, Iraq, November 24, 2009; Al-Rafidayn, Iraq, November 23, 2009
