Iraqi parliament votes on final version of electoral law
Iraq's Council of Representatives voted on the electoral law, which, if passed, will put forward the program for early elections scheduled for next June.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi parliament managed to overcome the hurdle of constituencies impeding the legislative elections law, passing the final version Oct. 29 amid major objections from some traditional political parties.
The electoral law should be sent to the president to become officially enforced. This would pave the way for holding early elections scheduled for next June. However, early elections still need forming the federal court and reforming the electoral commission.
The Iraqi parliament approved a new electoral law late last year under pressure from popular protests calling for political reform. The new law increased the number of electoral constituencies and divided them based on districts instead of governorates. However, Kurdish and Sunni objections to the issue of constituencies prevented the law from being sent to the president of the Republic, Barham Salih, for ratification.
The political blocs agreed Sept. 14 to divide each of the country's governorates into a number of electoral constituencies that reflect the number of seats allocated for women in parliament under the Constitution, which is 25.
