Iraqi presidential council rejects elections law
An Iraqi flag blows in the breeze as Iraqi police cadets stand in formation at the Ashraf Police Academy in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Around 500 policemen, who will join the police force in Baquouba, graduated from the course.
BAGHDAD (AP) _ Iraq's presidential council on Wednesday rejected a draft provincial elections law and sent it back to parliament for reworking — a major blow to U.S. hopes that the vote can be held this year.
The decision was likely to delay the elections until next year because there would not be sufficient time to make the necessary preparations. U.S. officials have pushed hard for the polls, which had been due by Oct. 1, as a key step toward repairing Iraq's sectarian divisions.
The announcement followed stinging criticism by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, over the methods used to pass the law despite a Kurdish walkout to protest a secret ballot on a section dealing with the disputed city of Kirkuk.
Talabani accused lawmakers of using unconstitutional means to push the legislation through "against the will of the second-largest parliamentary bloc," warning it could jeopardize national unity and provoke sectarian tensions.
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