Iraq election commission proposes vote on Jan. 21

[November 09, 2009]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's electoral commission on Monday submitted a proposal to hold national elections on Jan. 21, five days after the previously scheduled date.

Parliament cleared the way for the national poll when it passed a crucial election law Sunday night after weeks of political haggling. The elections had been slated for Jan. 16 and there were concerns a significant delay might slow the U.S. troop withdrawal, and undermine Iraq's fragile stability.

Lawmakers had been debating the legislation for weeks and were deadlocked over how to apportion votes in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a city claimed by both Arabs and Kurds.

"We have sent the date on which we can hold the elections, which is Jan. 21, and have informed the presidency council so that it can issue a presidential decree as to the new date," the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, Faraj al-Haidari, told The Associated Press.

Al-Haidari said the commission has also determined there will be 323 seats in the next parliament, up from 275 in the current parliament. The increase in seats is based on a formula sketched out in the election law that calls for a representative for each 100,000 people, using statistics provided by the Ministry of Trade.

The ministry gathers numbers from the food ration cards that Iraqis use, a relic from the Saddam Hussein era.

U.S. officials have been following the election debate closely for any sign it might affect the withdrawal of American combat troops, but Sunday night after the vote, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill said the troop drawdown was on schedule.

[Associated Press; By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA]

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