PRESSTV - The Iraqi parliament has unanimously approved the new provincial election law after reaching consensus among divergent political blocs.
"The representative council has unanimously voted in favor of the new bill after the lawmakers reached a consensus over amendments of the controversial draft law," an official in the parliament told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
He said that all the sides in the parliament came to an accord over the controversial issue of Kirkuk, which would have a separate law dealing with the elections, after solving the power-sharing issue in the city.
Iraq was due to go on provincial elections on October 1, but the country's parliamentary blocs failed to reach an agreement in time over controversial provincial election bill because of differences over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
On July 22, the Iraqi parliament approved the law although the Kurds walked out protesting a secret vote exclusively held over an article dealing with the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Two days later, the Iraqi presidency council rejected the bill after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi held a meeting.
According to Iraq's constitution, the draft law should be delivered to the presidency council for a unanimous approval. The council consists of President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
MP/MMN - PRESSTV