IRAQI PARLIAMENT CAN'T GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER

The stumbling blocks of forming a workable Iraqi government keep popping up.

Political pressures hinder passing elections law - MP

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Thursday , 07 /08 /2008 Time 8:25:43

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 7 (VOI) – An MP from the Kurdistan Coalition (KC) said on Thursday that political pressures exerted by some parliamentary blocs on the Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani were the main reason for Wednesday's session adjourning without passing the provincial council elections law.

"We are in the Kurdistan Coalition had agreed with the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) to pass the law during yesterday's session in accordance to the proposal made by the UN," Sirwan al-Zahawi told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI)."The proposal says that if the Kirkuk cause has not been resolved during this year, political powers should leave the issue to the Iraqi government and the parliament's chairmanship to put all necessary mechanisms and conditions to hold the elections in the oil-rich Kirkuk," he explained.

"The KC had announced its agreement on the proposal thus there is an agreement among main political powers on passing the law," he also said."

After the KC agreed to pass the law, we were surprised during yesterday's session that the speaker adjourned the session, the matter made us feel injustice," the MP noted.A legislator from the Kurdistan Coalition parliamentary bloc, Abdul-Mohsen al-Saadon, said yesterday that the Iraqi Parliament ended Wednesday afternoon's extraordinary session, after forming a committee of parliamentary blocs' heads to find a consensus text for the provincial election bill.