Divisive talks in Iraq jeopardize Jan. elections
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s torturous effort to hold parliamentary elections on schedule in January collapsed yesterday, raising the prospect of a political crisis next year as the United States begins withdrawing the majority of its combat troops.
After two days of divisive sessions and failed talks, the Parliament disregarded a veto by one of Iraq’s vice presidents and approved amendments that he promptly indicated he would veto as well.
The moves deepened a crisis that for a time had seemed resolved after months of wrangling over how to set up the vote, widely seen as a barometer of Iraq’s progress toward democracy.
The failure to agree on even the terms of the election has inflamed ethnic and sectarian tensions. The dispute underscored the depth of mistrust that remains despite improvements in security and campaign pledges by major coalitions to unite the country.
“Now we have only bad choices,’’ said Ahlam Asad, a Kurdish member of parliament who supported the new law.
The Parliament, known as the Council of Representatives, does not appear to have the necessary three-fifths majority to override a new veto, making it impossible to hold the vote in January as required under the Constitution.
The Obama administration and the US commander in Iraq, General Raymond T. Odierno, have long planned the withdrawal of American forces around the expectation that the election would take place in January.
There are now roughly 120,000 troops in Iraq. Under President Obama’s policy, fewer than 50,000 are to remain after August 2010. It now appears certain the election will not be held until at least the beginning of major withdrawals.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed hope that the election would be held.
The Parliament voted yesterday despite efforts by American and UN diplomats to broker a compromise between the vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, and lawmakers who accused him of trying to bolster the chances of Sunnis by widening a quota for Iraqis living abroad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his bloc supported the new law.
The three-member Presidency Council - Hashimi, President Jalal Talabani, and a second vice president, Adel Abdul Mahdi - now has 10 days to approve or veto the new law.
“The government will keep working as it is right now, and we will not postpone the elections too much,’’ said a parliamentary spokesman. “The Council of Representatives has reached a new formula. If there is a veto, then it is going to be different matter.’’
The constitution, written with American and other foreign help in 2005, allows a one-month extension. In a nation with little democratic precedence, it is unclear what happens if a new Parliament has not been elected.
