Iraqi Lawmakers Fail to Vote on Election Law

The Iraqi parliament has again failed to approve a law that would govern next year's national elections.

Iraqi lawmakers say they will consider the bill again on Sunday.

Their repeated failure to reach a consensus on the controversial bill has raised doubts that the elections will take place as planned on January 16.

The election commission chief, Faraj al-Haidari, had warned parliament that if it did not approve the bill this week, there would not be enough time to get ready for the vote.

Lawmakers cannot agree on the voting guidelines for Kirkuk, an oil-rich province that is home to Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen communities.

Some parliamentarians support using current voter records for Kirkuk, which would favor Kurds. Others have suggested using a voter registry dating back to 2004, which would favor Arabs.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.