Forex: Iraqi VP Postpones Veto Decision Until Sunday

Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi announced Thursday he had postponed until Sunday a decision on whether to accept or veto an amended version of the country's election law for next year's crucial parliamentary polls, after a court gave him more time.

Hashemi, who is one of the three members of the Presidential Council, vetoed an original election bill as it did not allocate seats to Iraqis who fled abroad, many of them Sunnis. According to UN estimates, 2.5 million Iraqis, most of them Sunnis, live abroad.

Instead of addressing his concerns, Iraq's majority Shias and minority Kurds conspired to pass an amended law that stripped parliamentary seats from some Sunni provinces and allocated them to northern Kurdish provinces.

Stating that the reasons why he vetoed the law still existed, Hashemi said he considers these reasons to be principles that he will not relinquish as they concern all Iraqi citizens.

However, the Vice-President said he was still looking for a political reconciliation among all parties which allowed the country to move beyond this impasse and that he would only use his veto as a last resort. Yet, he warned that time was running out to reach a solution before Sunday.

Hashemi had 10 days from November 23, when parliament approved the amended law to veto it, before the High Judicial Council extended the deadline to Sunday. The Council said since the 10-day period would legally end Friday, a decision could await the subsequent working day after the week-end holidays Friday and Saturday.

Hashemi's November 18 veto triggered a crisis with the Electoral Commission halting its work organizing the polls until the law was finalized. According to the constitution, national elections must be held before January 31.

Last week, lawmakers passed an amended version of the law, which was reviewed by Iraq's three-member Presidential Council, comprising Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish President, and vice-Presidents Adel Abdel Mehdi, a Shia Arab besides Hashemi.

Talabani and Mehdi ratified the amended election law last week awaiting Hashemi's decision.

Under the constitution, a veto by any one member in the Presidential Council would be sufficient to send the bill back to parliament. If Hashemi uses his second veto, lawmakers can overturn it with a 60 per cent majority vote in parliament. The Shia-Kurdish alliance has nearly 30 votes over the threshold in the 275-seat assembly.

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Nations are pressurizing Iraqi politicians to avoid a delay that could affect Washington's plans to end combat operations in Iraq in August.

Ad Melkert, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), held talks with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, Hashemi and other parliamentary officials in a bid to end the political deadlock.

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement that it believed February 27, 2010 would be "a feasible option for practical and constitutional reasons" to hold elections.

If the parliamentary polls does not materialize before the end of February or beginning of March, it could potentially create a political vacuum as the mandate of al-Maliki's government expires on March 16.