Ban hopeful on Iraqi vote

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament should act swiftly to adopt reforms to a national election law so the vote can proceed in January, the U.N. secretary-general said.

Iraqi lawmakers had reached a settlement over amendments to a 2005 national election law, paving the way for Jan. 21 elections. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on Wednesday, however, vetoed a portion of the measure dealing with the allocation of seats for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are his Sunni constituents.

Iraqi lawmakers are expected to take up the matter again during their session Saturday, the Voice of Iraq news agency reports.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon through his spokesman Farhan Haq said he anticipates a swift passage through Parliament.

"He hopes the (Parliament) will move swiftly to ensure that the law is adopted and the elections can go forward," the spokesman said.

Hashemi in a statement to VOI said he was astonished over the media frenzy brought on by his veto.

"We renew our astonishment over the media fuss regarding the vice president's constitutional and legal right to veto the first article of the law on elections," the statement read.

The Iraqi Constitution mandates a January vote. Any delays could jeopardize plans by the U.S. military to begin phasing out of Iraq by the summer of next year.

U.S. Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, said he had enough time to make plans for a responsible withdrawal.