Via the BBC: Talabani denounces election law
Iraq’s president has denounced a draft law paving the way for provincial elections, after MPs adopted it despite a walkout by the Kurdish bloc.
President Jalal Talabani, who is himself Kurd, says he is confident the three-member presidential council which he chairs will not approve it.
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Elections were scheduled for 1 October but are now likely to be delayed.
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The Kurds opposed the bill because of objections to clauses about the oil-rich Kirkuk province, which is claimed by both Arabs and Kurds.
While one can make too much of a particular political conflict, it is not insignificant that there is an ongoing difficulty within Iraq to be able to establish the basic elements needed for a fully functional Iraqi state. The fact that over half a decade after the invasion that basic rules for local elections have not been created do not speak well of the process to build democracy in Iraq.
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