Wrangling mars Iraqi election laws passage

BAGHDAD, July 22 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad Tuesday passed a provincial council elections law amid a Kurdish boycott and procedural questions from key lawmakers.

The Kurdistani Alliance bloc in the Iraqi Parliament stormed out of Tuesday's session because Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani decided to hold a closed-door vote on the provision. The measure passed, however, with 127 of the 140 members voicing their support, Voices of Iraq reported.

First Deputy Speaker Khaled al-Attiya also said he had some reservations on the measure, saying he had some apprehension about the way the vote was cast in the Tuesday session.

Kurdish officials had also called for postponing local elections until jurisdictional matters are resolved regarding power sharing agreements among the various ethnic groups.

The election law offers an open system of provincial candidates, allowing voters to vote for an individual candidate rather than a party slate.

In other news from Tuesday's session, lawmakers from the ruling Shiite United Iraq Coalition bloc, led by the influential Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, called for further military action to put an end to the declining situation in Mosul.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a major military operation in Mosul beginning May 10; however, the region has experienced a rise in insurgent activities and suicide bombings in recent weeks.

"The security situation in Mosul city is constantly deteriorating. Therefore, I urge the Iraqi government to boost the security presence in the city," UIC lawmaker Hanin al-Qaddo said.