Iraq to hold special session on elections

BAGHDAD, July 31 (UPI) -- Iraqi lawmakers will hold a special session Sunday to hammer out amendments to the provincial council election laws, officials said Thursday.

Parliament left for summer recess Wednesday without moving on several provisions in the election law. The majority of lawmakers present at a July 22 session passed the measure, though Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, vetoed the measure the next day, citing certain articles regarding the jurisdiction and status of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Reda Jawad Taqi of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance said allied Shiite parties are pressuring rival parties to accept terms regarding Kirkuk laid out by the United Nations, Voices of Iraq reported.

"There are intensified efforts made by the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council to convince the MPs of the Arab-Turkoman bloc to agree to the formula presented by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Stefan de Mistura with some amendments," he said.

The United Nations in June examined benchmarks for the Iraqi government to reach broader national reconciliation as part of the Iraqi Constitution, including Kirkuk.

Lawmakers Wednesday also failed to pass a $21 billion budget measure when Kurdish lawmakers stormed out of the session again over the election laws, prompting Finance Minister Bayan Jabr to raise concerns over the distribution of funds for food rations and other civil projects, Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the U.S. Armed Forces, reported.