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U.S. officials in Iraq should pressure the central and Kurdish governments to resolve their differences over amendments to an election law, a scholar says.
Iraqi lawmakers are debating amendments to a 2005 national election law that will govern parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 16. Iraqi elections officials, as well as U.S. and international leaders, have warned undue delays might challenge the January deadline.
At issue is whether to hold elections under a closed- or open-list system. The closed system, used in 2005, includes only party names, while the open system lists all of the candidates running in the election.
J. Scott Carpenter with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy warns that Iraq risks political instability in a constitutional vacuum if the elections are delayed beyond January.
Carpenter notes that Shiites have "dutifully" followed Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on the open system, but warns of further complications from Kurdish lawmakers.
Kurds, he says, are protesting the open system, which undermines the influence of the incumbent Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Meanwhile, Kurdish disputes over voting in the disputed city of Kirkuk threaten to derail any development on the election law.
U.S. officials have come forward calling on the Iraqis to settle the matter. Instead, Carpenter says, Washington should pressure both governments in Iraq to resolve their differences to avoid a potential political crisis.
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