Iraqi lawmakers delay vote on electoral law

An Iraqi parliament session aimed at resolving deadlock on electoral law required for general elections in January ended without agreement yesterday.

Lawmakers were expected to vote on the much-delayed law, but parliamentary officials said the proceeding is delayed until later today in hope of finding a solution acceptable to all political factions.

"The vote is postponed until tomorrow," parliamentary speaker Iyad al-Samarrai told the press yesterday.

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi vetoed the proposed election law several days ago, saying that he wanted more representation for Iraqis living abroad, many of whom are Sunni Arabs. After the veto, Iraq's electoral commission halted general-election preparations.

The parliament has been considering whether the Sunni vice president had the legal right to scrap legislation presented to the presidency council.

Members of Iraq's electoral commission say the deadlock over the election law will probably delay January's elections.