Iraq President Rejects Election Law

The U.S. backed provincial elections in Iraq have suffered a setback when Iraq's presidential council rejected a draft election lawand returned it to the Iraqi Parliament for reworking.  The elections, scheduled for this autumn, will now likely be delayed.

The elections are expected to redistribute power in Iraq's 18 provinces in what is considered a necessary step toward reconciliation. Many Sunni Arabs boycotted provincial balloting in January 2005, enabling Shiite Muslims and Kurds to win a disproportionate share of power.

Talabani's rejection had been anticipated after parliament approved the law Tuesday despite a Kurdish walkout to protest a secret ballot held on a section dealing with the disputed oil-rich Kirkuk region.

Talabani said earlier Wednesday that he could not approve a law that was approved by only 127 members of the 275-strong parliament. The body had claimed it passed since the 127 represented a majority of the 140 lawmakers present for the voting.

"But if the law is not approved in the coming week, then the date will be changed to sometime in 2009," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. (Link)

Reconcilliation and power redistribution would be considered positive progress for the Maliki government by the White House.  However, it's not clear that the law is in Prime Minister Maliki's best interest.  Maliki supports a powerful central government controlled by Shia, and a redistributing power to Sunni and Kurdish provincesmay make the Bush Administration happy, it goes counter to Maliki's goals and objectives. 

It's becoming increasingly clear the Iraqis want to flex their sovereign muscles.  The recent demand for timetables for U.S. troop withdrawals and, now, this rejection of the U.S. favored provincial elections is further evidence the Mailiki government cares a whole lot more aboutsecuring their own power in Iraq and less about the desires of a lame duck Bush Administration.