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September 8th, 2008
Posted: 01:32 PM ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq’s parliament will reconvene Tuesday after its annual summer recess, with the provincial elections law the first item on its agenda. Parliament took its break at the end of July after failing to pass the legislation, which would have set in motion final planning and a date the important grass-roots polls — considered a major step toward national reconciliation among Iraqi Sunni Arabs, Shiites, and Kurds. The law had been passed by parliament in July, but it didn’t get by the country’s three-person presidency council, where it needs a unanimous vote. Two of the members rejected the law. Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, have urged parliament to pass this legislation as soon as possible so elections can be held by year’s end. If the passage isn’t swift, Iraq could face the problem of having its 18 provinces run by temporary councils whose legal existence expires on December 22. |
 
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