Baghdad - Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday said they feared parliamentary elections now scheduled for January 18 may be postponed after Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi sent the law back to parliament. Earlier Wednesday, the Sunni vice president asked parliament to reconsider the paragraph of the law that sets the number of seats reserved for expatriate Iraqi voters, most of whom are believed to be Sunni Muslims.
"The Parliament should be responsible during this crucial stage," Iraqi member of parliament Abbas al-Bayati told the German Press Agency dpa. "Al-Hashemi's decision will lead to the postponement of the elections and the obstruction of the democratic process.
"The vice president should consider the embarrassment this will cause. It will give the wrong message, leading to the re-emergence of sectarian divisions," he said.
Al-Hashemi requested that parliament raise the quota of seats at stake in the vote for expatriate Iraqis to 15 per cent of the total. The law approved by parliament last week allocates 5 per cent of seats for Iraqis abroad.
"The vice president's objections may lead to a delay in the elections, because the various parliamentary blocs will require time to come to an agreement on this article," legislator Taha Dara said.
Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said that "any delay in the ratification of the elections law will affect the work and preparation of the commission."
"We are working for holding the elections in mid-January," said Hamdiya al-Husseini, a member of the commission.
Al-Hashemi's move comes after lawmakers last week reached a compromise on voting in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk that allowed elections to be scheduled for January 18, ahead of the constitutionally mandated deadline of the end of January.
The Kurdish Regional Government has likewise threatened to boycott the polls if the number of seats allocated to the two provinces that together make up the semi-autonomous Kurdish zone in northern Iraq is not increased.
"Things are confusing right now," said lawmaker Maysun al- Damalouji. "We are waiting for the plenary session, although the postponement of the elections seem likely now."
