BAGHDAD - Iraq’s Sunni Arab vice president threatened yesterday to veto the country’s election law unless changes are made giving Iraqis living abroad more guaranteed seats in Parliament, throwing the January vote into question.
The veto threat was made a week after lawmakers passed the long-delayed legislation, paving the way for national polls in January.
Any delay in the voting could derail a US plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, a process scheduled to ramp up following the election.
Tariq al-Hashimi gave Parliament until noon tomorrow to amend the election bill and ensure greater representation for voters outside of Iraq, most of whom are Sunni Arabs like al-Hashimi.
“If the law is not amended by the Parliament or the Electoral Commission by reconsidering the distribution of . . . seats, I will definitely use my constitutional right,’’ Hashimi said on Alhurra television, referring to his veto power over legislation as vice president and a member of the three-person presidential council.
“I will not allow the passage of a law that contradicts the constitution and the principles of justice regardless of the price to be paid,’’ he added.
The head of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission, Faraj al-Haidari, said he plans to meet with Hashimi today to discuss his reservations about the bill.
In a letter to Parliament, Hashimi said the election bill lawmakers passed “did not give fair treatment to the large segment of Iraqi people who are living abroad and who were forced to leave their country for reasons beyond their control.’’
Most of the estimated 2 million Iraqis who fled the sectarian violence in their homeland are Sunni Arabs. The vast majority now live in Jordan and Syria.
Lawmakers haggled for weeks over the election law before passing it on Nov. 8, much to the relief of the United States, which has tied its withdrawal of all combat troops to the national vote.
US military officials have said that they will begin to draw down forces about 60 days after the election, with the idea that the country will be on stable footing by then.
