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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| New Iraqi election law approved | New Iraqi election law approved |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Iraq's parliament has unanimously approved a new electoral law, paving the way for elections next year. | Iraq's parliament has unanimously approved a new electoral law, paving the way for elections next year. |
| Parliamentarians were called to vote in a special late-night session to try to end a political crisis, and they voted minutes before their midnight deadline. | Parliamentarians were called to vote in a special late-night session to try to end a political crisis, and they voted minutes before their midnight deadline. |
| The speaker of parliament said an election would be held on 27 February. | The speaker of parliament said an election would be held on 27 February. |
| No details have been made public about the new law, but it is said to have been brokered by officials from the UN and the US embassy. | No details have been made public about the new law, but it is said to have been brokered by officials from the UN and the US embassy. |
| Withdrawal plan | Withdrawal plan |
| Polls originally scheduled for 16 January were delayed due to problems with the election law. | Polls originally scheduled for 16 January were delayed due to problems with the election law. |
| Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi had vetoed the previous version of the law, saying it did not provide enough seats for the country's Sunni minority. | Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi had vetoed the previous version of the law, saying it did not provide enough seats for the country's Sunni minority. |
| Following the parliamentary vote, he formally withdrew his veto of the election law and praised the new amendment as providing a fairer deal for Iraq's minorities. | Following the parliamentary vote, he formally withdrew his veto of the election law and praised the new amendment as providing a fairer deal for Iraq's minorities. |
| About 4 million Sunnis fled the country to escape violence that erupted after the US-led invasion. | About 4 million Sunnis fled the country to escape violence that erupted after the US-led invasion. |
| Debate over the electoral law had also centred around the northern, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which is disputed between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. | Debate over the electoral law had also centred around the northern, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which is disputed between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. |
| The new parliament will be expanded from the current 275 seats to 325, said deputy Parliament Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah. | |
| The election is seen as a prerequisite to the US meeting its goal of pulling out combat troops by August next year, and withdrawing fully by 2011. | The election is seen as a prerequisite to the US meeting its goal of pulling out combat troops by August next year, and withdrawing fully by 2011. |