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Iraq measure paves way for provincial fall
elections
20.3.2008
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March 20, 2008
BAGHDAD,-- Under strong U.S. pressure,
Iraq’s presidential council signed off yesterday on
a measure paving the way for provincial elections by
the fall, a major step toward easing sectarian rifts
as the nation marks the fifth anniversary of the
war.
The decision by the council, made up of the
country’s president and two vice presidents, lays
the groundwork for voters to choose new leaders of
Iraq’s 18 provinces, opening the door to greater
Sunni representation in regional administrations.
Many Sunnis boycotted the last election for
provincial officials in January 2005,www.ekurd.net
enabling Shiites and
Kurds to win a disproportionate share of power at
the expense of the Sunnis - even in areas with
substantial Sunni populations.
That in turn helped fuel the Sunni-led insurgency
and the wave of sectarian bloodletting which drove
the country to the brink of civil war before
President Bush rushed nearly 30,000 U.S.
reinforcements to Iraq last year.
The decision by the council came two days after Vice
President Dick Cheney visited Baghdad to press Iraqi
leaders to overcome their differences and take
advantage of a lull in violence to make progress in
power-sharing deals.
Details must still be worked out before a vote can
be scheduled, but the council’s decision makes it
likely a vote can take place later this year.
“This is a good, positive step to enhance national
unity and defuse the political tension,” Nasser al-Ani,
a Sunni lawmaker and presidential council spokesman,
told The Associated Press.
The difficulty in arranging for provincial balloting
underscored the immense challenges involved in
trying to distribute power among Shiites, Sunni
Arabs and Kurds five years after the fall of Saddam
Hussein.
In a statement marking the fifth anniversary,
President Jalal Talabani hailed the fall of Saddam’s
regime but warned that “the march that started five
years ago will not succeed” unless Iraqis can
achieve “real reconciliation among our people.”
Power-sharing agreements were the goal of last
year’s buildup of U.S. troops. As the war enters its
sixth year, the number of attacks has dropped with
the addition of the extra 30,000 American troops, a
Sunni revolt against al-Qaeda in Iraq and a
cease-fire by al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus,
told CNN that “we’re in a good, better, place in
terms of security” than a year ago. But Petraeus
added that “progress is tenuous” and “there are
innumerable challenges out there.”
AP
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