No ban on religious symbols, Iraq says

BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament banned the depiction of clerical leaders but not the use of religious symbols in passing the provincial elections law, leaders said Friday.

The Iraqi Parliament, after months of wrangling over the status of the city of Kirkuk, passed an election law that paves the way for provincial elections in January.

The law includes a provision that allocates 25 percent of the seats to women and a prohibition on the use of mosques, pictures of clerical leaders and government institutions during the campaign season.

Abbas al-Bayati with the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance told Voices of Iraq Friday the law made allowances for certain religious symbols, however.

"The law prevents only the use of photos of the top Shiite clerics … but it allows the use of religious symbols like Koran verses, ordinary clerics and the officials of political movements and parties," he said.

Controversy over power-sharing disputes over the city of Kirkuk delayed passage of the measure. A similar draft passed July 22 but was later rejected by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, over contentious issues surrounding the oil-rich city.

The Wednesday measure delays elections in Kirkuk and establishes a parliamentary subcommittee to develop a proposal on the issues in March. Kurdish lawmakers welcomed the measure as a positive step toward national reconciliation.