Iraqi vice president says more talks on stalled elections possible but sticks by his law veto

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Iraq VP: more talks possible on stalled elections

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s vice president said Thursday he remains open to talks to break an impasse on holding parliament elections scheduled for next month, but that he stands by his demand that minority Sunnis have a greater voice in the voting.

A long delay of the elections could complicate the withdrawal timetables for U.S. forces, and chances appear to be dimming quickly for Iraq to hold the elections as scheduled on Jan 16.

The main obstacle is Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi’s recent veto of a new proposed election law, which has blocked the whole process. He said the law does not give enough seats for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are fellow Sunnis.

For Sunnis, the issue of political clout is extremely important. Their once-privileged status was lost with the fall of Saddam Hussein and they fear being increasingly sidelined by the majority Shiites who took control of the government and security forces.

Some officials, including a U.N. envoy, have proposed moving the voting to at least the end of February. Al-Hashemi said he was ready for more dialogue, but insisted he will not lift his veto unless his demands are met.

“I did not veto the law for the sake of veto, I had my legitimate justifications,” he told a news conference.

Al-Hashemi’s current veto expires Sunday. He either must reimpose the veto or the proposed election law will be automatically approved. That would leave officials with the option to either scramble to hold elections on schedule Jan. 16 or set a delayed date.

Al-Hashemi said “there is still time” to reach a compromise on holding the elections for an expanded 323-seat parliament.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping to remain in power with the backing of a coalition that includes his main Shiite backers and some Sunni groups. But he faces a challenge from a wide-reaching Shiite alliance that includes the country’s most powerful Shiite political group.

Washington is closely watching the election process. A toppling of the pro-Western al-Maliki administration could tip the leadership toward groups more wary of the United States. A long delay in the voting also could force military commanders to juggle both election security and the pullout plans.

Al-Hashemi said he is studying proposals by U.N. monitors to find ways to move ahead with the elections. But he vowed not to lift his veto until the election plans “meet the national interests and fix the shortcomings.”

Details of the U.N. proposals have not been made public. But Sandra Mitchell, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq’s electoral commission, suggested to parliament Speaker Ayad al-Samarie on Wednesday the election could possibly even be moved to March, according to the speaker’s Web site.

Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who heads a small bloc in parliament, said a preliminary proposal from various political factions calls for moving the election to Feb. 27, but it also could be further pushed to March 1.

President Barack Obama has ordered the withdrawal of all combat troops by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving up to 50,000 troops in advisory roles. Under an Iraqi-U.S. security agreement, those remaining troops would leave by the end of 2011.

On Thursday in Tikrit, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt near goldsmith shops, killing at least two people, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

In northern Baghdad, a bomb at a roadside market killed one and wounded six people, a police officials said.

The official says the bomb was hidden inside a juice cart when it went off in the primarily Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah.

The official says the explosion targeted civilians stopping at the makeshift market to buy juice and other items. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

The attack comes after one of the least deadly periods in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Officials said November had one of the lowest civilian death tolls of the war.