Iraqi lawmakers deadlocked over election law

BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers failed to agree on key changes to the election law on Wednesday, throwing January’s crucial parliamentary vote into jeopardy and potentially slowing down U.S. withdrawal from the country.

For weeks, lawmakers have been entangled in a bitter dispute over a new election law that would set out the legal structure for the critical balloting set for Jan. 16.

The most contested issue is over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and how to settle power-sharing disputes there between Arabs and Kurds. The lawmakers also have yet to find a compromise on new voting guidelines that would require ballots to list individual candidates rather than just their party blocs — a system used in Iraq’s parliamentary election in 2005.

The lack of ability and political will by Iraq’s leading parties to compromise on legislative issues has raised fears of a possible return to sectarian violence at a time when the U.S. is drawing down its combat forces and shifting the military focus to Afghanistan.

According to the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that went into effect in January, the American troop pullout will only accelerate after next year’s parliamentary election.

The majority of the current 125,000 U.S. troops are expected to remain in Iraq until after the election since maintaining security for the balloting is considered a top priority by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and other high-ranking Pentagon officials.

President Barack Obama told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during a meeting in Washington Tuesday that he plans to hold to U.S. withdrawal plans that aim for a complete pullout by the end of 2011.

Obama also said he was watching closely for the Iraqi parliament to pass the election law.

There was a sense of urgency in a call by Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Ayad al-Samarraie to the top political leaders to put aside their differences and swiftly agree on the new law so that parliamentary elections can take place on time.

“The election law needs a political decision,” al-Samarraie said after the parliament handed the hotly debated legislation to a special advisory council in hopes that its members — the country’s top leaders — can hammer out a deal with leading political figures.

Holding elections — even with a delay of a few weeks — is crucial for Iraq’s political process to continue developing after years of authoritarian rule and the devastating sectarian violence that followed the U.S. invasion and brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007, analysts say.

“It would be terrible to postpone elections indefinitely or even for a longer time,” said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East director the International Crisis Group think tank. It is, however, “key to get elections right, even if a bit late,” he added.

Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, previously threatened to boycott the elections if ballots only carry the names of party blocs. He said listing individual names will encourage voter participation — a provision the Shiite parties cannot openly contradict.

Iraq’s majority Shiites should claim most of the seats in the voting but will need alliances with Sunni Arabs, Kurds and others to effectively govern.

The dispute between Kirkuk’s Arab, Kurd and Turkomen clans has complicated political dealmaking at the national level. U.S. diplomats and military commanders have often described Kirkuk as one of the linchpins for long-term stability in Iraq.