BAGHDAD, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Parliamentary elections cannot be held in Iraq before the end of January 2010, election officials say.
Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission says it is now too late to meet the constitutional requirement for passage of an electoral bill 60 days before an election is held, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, has indicated he will veto an amended version of the electoral bill agreed to earlier this week.
That version allocates more parliamentary seats to Kurds and fewer to Sunnis, the BBC says.
Both President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill have voiced support for the amended version.
Parliament can override Hashemi's threatened veto with a three-fifths majority but at this juncture the Independent Electoral Commission says it would be too late to hold elections in January.
