ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

US welcomes Iraq local election law, AFP (2008)

 

Opposition Grows to Iraqi Election Plan, The Wall Street Journal (2009)

As legislators are preparing an electoral law for January elections, opposition grows to the closed-list ballot proposal.

Iraqi primary election ordered by Muqtada Sadr draws voters, Los Angeles Times (2009)

Muqtada Sadr's party holds the first primary for candidates in January 2010 election.

Iraqis defer vote on election law, The Washington Post (2009)

The second voting for an electoral law crucial for the upcoming January elections failed, pointing to the current problems that Iraqi legislators and society have to face.

Iraq: Bombings may aim to derail effort to reform election law, Irish Times (2009)

As the country senior leaders were supposed to meet to resolve a dispute over the election law, two bombs exploded at the justice ministry and provincial administration offices in Baghdad.

Legislators in Iraq block a Deal on Election Law, The New York Times (2009)

Despite a law proposed by the nation's top political figures on Monday, Iraqi political parties failed to agree on the election law again. This represents another blockage in negotiations, threatening the January 16 national elections.

Iraqi Kurdish bloc to boycott vote, CNN (2009)

The Kurdish bloc in the Iraqi parliament intends to boycott the vote on the electoral law if the province of Kirkuk is banned from voting in the January 2010 elections.

Iraq fails to agree on election law, The Wall Street Journal (2009)

Iraqi lawmakers failed to agree on the proposed electoral law yet again and the election commission warned that the January election may have to be delayed if the law does not pass this week (during Thursday session).

Iraqis again fail to approve election law, The New York Times (2009)

The Iraqi Parliament failed to approve the long debated election law during the Thursday session, which will very likely lead to a delay in the elections, scheduled for January 16. A member of the Independent High Electoral Commission Hamdia al-Hussaini said she would wait until Sunday to decide whether to postpone the election.

Deal on Kirkuk sets stage for Iraqi elections, The Guardian (2009)

Having agreed on the formula to include the disputed city of Kirkuk in national election, Iraqi legislators have finally passed the electoral law, which means that the national elections will take place in January 2010.

Iraq VP threatens to veto vote law over refugees, Reuters (2009)

The Iraqi Vice President threatened to veto the election law unless seats in the Parliament are allocated to Iraqi refugees. This move once again raises doubts about whether the general election scheduled for January 2010 will actually take place.

Kurdish legislators threaten boycott of Iraq election, The New York Times (2009)

After the Iraqi Vice President threatened to veto the election law, the Kurdish legislators threatened to boycott the election unless they get a greater share of parliamentary seats.

Iraq VP vetoes the new election law, BBC News (2009)

The Sunni Vice President of Iraq, Tariq al-Hashemi vetoed article 1 of the electoral law, demanding the representation of displaced people in the Iraqi parliament to increase to 15%. This action puts into doubt the upcoming elections that are scheduled to take place in January 2010.

Iraq's January elections face near certain delay, The New York Times (2009)

As the Iraqi parliament disregarded the Vice-President's veto of the electoral law, and approved new amendments that the Vice President announced he would veto as well, holding January polls, as required by the Constitution, becomes virtually impossible, deepening the already troublesome crisis.

Iraqis reach tentative compromise on amended election measure, The Washington Post (2009)

The different Iraqi factions reached a compromise over the amended electoral law, thus potentially avoiding the second veto by Vice President al-Hashimi. Iraq's electoral commission still has to sign the agreement, but one of them was quoted saying it "looks promising." Because of this crisis, January elections are most likely to be moved to February.

Iraqis reach a deal on long-delayed election law, The New York Times (2009)

Short of avoiding a constitutional crisis, the Iraqis reached a deal on the election law. According to the government officials, the compromise had been agreed upon by Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders and therefore it is unlikely to collapse again. As the election officials need at least 60 days notice to prepare for vote, the date of elections could be set for early February 2010.

Iraq: bombs kill 112 in Baghdad as March election date is set, Telegraph (2009)

As the election officials announced that the 2010 general election will take place on March 6, several blasts aimed at the government buildings in Baghdad killed 112 people and left more than 200 wounded.

Iraqi election workers targets for insurgents, The Washington Post (2009)

Insurgents have been killing and kidnapping election workers with an aim to derail the March parliamentary elections. The Iraqi officials claim the Sunni insurgent group Al-Qaeda in Iraq is behind the latest attacks, which have forced the electoral commission to increase security measures for staff members.

Iraq/Syria: A vote of no confidence, Syria Today (2010)

Despite the fact that the status of refugee voters have become one of the key election issues in Iraq, this article claims that the Iraqi refugees living in Syria seem to lack interest and confidence in the upcoming March elections and remain cynical about their homeland's election process. The refugee voting can also pose several logistical challenges, which will have to be dealt with in Syria and elsewhere.

Iraq bars 15 political parties with Baathist ties from upcoming elections, The Washington Post (2010)

The Justice and Accountability Commission tasked with cleansing government ranks and security forces from Baathists has decided to ban at least 15 parties from the upcoming parliamentary elections claiming that they have either been linked to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party or promoted Baathist ideals. There is an existing concern that this move will lead to more violence and uprisings.