Iraqi officials study options for date of delayed parliamentary elections

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Iraqi officials study delayed election date

BAGHDAD — Discussions were under way Monday to postpone Iraq’s national elections by at least 45 days after lawmakers met a last-minute deadline to approve new voting rules, a delay that some worry will now complicate the planned U.S. withdrawal of combat troops.

The elections were initially scheduled for Jan. 16, but officials were proposing a delay of at least six weeks until late February after months of wrangling over a new election law brought planning for national balloting to a standstill.

The Feb. 27 date appeared to have the most support from Iraq’s elections commission after Monday’s discussions, though other dates remained on the table, said Qassim al-Aboudi, a senior election commission official.

He said the commission would make a recommendation as early as Monday afternoon to the president’s office, which must approve any change in election dates.

Plans for the election had been mired for weeks over Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi’s demands for a greater political voice for minority Sunni Arabs and the distribution of seats in Iraq’s expanded 325-seat parliament.

Parliament approved the law late Sunday during an emergency session convened just before a midnight deadline. A failure to pass new elections rules on Sunday would have forced Iraqis to revert to those used in its last parliamentary election in December 2005 and likely throw the political process into a tailspin.

The White House applauded the vote, which the U.S. hopes will ease the eventual withdrawal of American troops.

In a statement issued Sunday evening, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the agreement “a decisive moment for Iraq’s democracy.”

But the postponed election could complicate withdrawal timetables for the U.S. military, which is keeping the bulk of its 120,000 troops in place because of a possible rise in violence surrounding the voting.

The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, had ordered the bulk of the withdrawal to begin 60 days after January balloting. It was unclear whether Odierno has adjusted the order with elections now likely to be postponed.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

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.

Though U.S. officials have said publicly the pullout remains on track, privately there have been concerns raised about a possible bottleneck during the withdrawal if the bulk of troops are held until late spring or early summer.