Faraj al-Haidan story...what ever happened to this story ?  | News World |
|
Iraqi Parliament warned of vote delay |
| Iraq’s election commission chairman said on Wednesday that he has warned lawmakers that if they do not have an agreement in place on an election law by the end of today, the country’s nationwide vote in January will have to be delayed |
Faraj al-Haidari told The Associated Press that he had informed the parliament speaker late on Tuesday in writing that if the law is not approved by the end of today, it will be impossible to carry out the vote Jan. 16. “We informed the Parliament that if the election law is not legislated within 48 hours it would be difficult and impossible to carry out elections on the 16th of January, so they will be obliged to extend the date,” al-Haidari said. Iraqi lawmakers have been struggling over a compromise on the election law needed to carry out the vote. The key sticking point is the issue of who should be allowed to vote in Kirkuk, an oil-rich city in the north claimed by both Kurds and Arabs. Any election day delay could, in turn, disrupt American plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, now scheduled to ramp up after the vote. Kurds claim that Kirkuk is a Kurdish city and want it part of their self-ruled region.