Iraq's presidential council on Wednesday rejected a draft provincial-elections law and sent it back to parliament for reworking - a major blow to U.S. hopes that the vote can be held this year.
The decision was likely to delay the elections until next year because there would not be sufficient time to make the necessary preparations. U.S. officials have pushed hard for the polls, which had been due by Oct. 1, as a key step toward repairing Iraq's sectarian divisions.
The announcement followed stinging criticism by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, about the methods used to pass the law despite a Kurdish walkout to protest a secret ballot on a section dealing with the disputed city of Kirkuk.
Talabani accused lawmakers of using unconstitutional means to push the legislation through "against the will of the second-largest parliamentary bloc," warning it could jeopardize national unity and provoke sectarian tensions.
The Kurds hold 58 seats in the 275-member parliament.Iraqi laws must be ratified by the presidential council. But Talabani and Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, rejected the election plan, and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was abroad.
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