Iraqi parliament calls session on Kirkuk
Iraq's parliament went into summer recess yesterday without resolving key disputes holding up this year's provincial elections, forcing the speaker to announce a special session to discuss a power-sharing formula for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, adjourned the session as scheduled but ordered lawmakers to meet again on Sunday in a final effort to resolve the issue. His Shiite deputy, Khalid al-Attiyah, criticized the decision and said the legislative session should be extended until the matter is resolved.
"The committee discussing Kirkuk could not find a solution and has asked for more time," al-Mashadani said. "The problem of Kirkuk is a complicated one and failure to reach a solution will lead to more bloodshed," he warned.
Failure to compromise on a new law establishing rules and funding for the U.S.-backed provincial vote will likely force the vote to be delayed until next year. Under previous legislation, the election had been scheduled for Oct. 1 but will now probably be put off until December at the earliest a blow to efforts to heal Iraq's sectarian rifts.
The elections are expected to redistribute power in Iraq's 18 provinces in what is considered a necessary step toward reconciliation. Many Sunni Arabs boycotted provincial balloting in January 2005, enabling Shiite Muslims and Kurds to win a disproportionate share of power.
The new law says the provincial council in Kirkuk should be divided equally among Kurds, Turkomen and Arabs. But Kurds and their allies, who currently hold a majority on the council, fear that will dilute their power. Kurds consider Kirkuk part of their historical homeland, and are seeking to incorporate the oil-rich area into their semiautonomous region to the north.
Lawmakers pushed through a draft of the elections law earlier this month despite a walkout by the Kurdish bloc, but the measure was vetoed by the presidential council, which is led by a Kurd, Jalal Talabani.
The standoff over the law has left Kurdish leaders at odds with the central government. Parliament failed to approve an additional budget of $21 billion after Kurdish lawmakers walked out Wednesday to protest the law.
Finance Minister Bayan Jabar said the failure could delay government expenditures on food rations, fuel for power plants and pay raises for civil servants. The extra budget would increase the overall budget to $70 billion this year.
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