IHEC urges postponement of elections for “technical reasons”

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) will call for a postponement of the upcoming parliamentary elections for seven or 10 days due to “technical reasons,” a member of the commission said on Monday. “The commission needs one week or a maximum of 10 days to become well-prepared for the elections,” Hamdiya al-Husseini told IraqiNews.com news agency. On Sunday (Nov. 8), the Iraqi parliament approved the controversial election law by majority in a fierce session marked by numerous objections. The law, which would help hold legislative elections scheduled for January 16, 2010, caps a wide-scale political horn-locking among Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen and other political blocs that stretched over more than one month, namely regarding the way the elections would be held in the disputed city of Kirkuk. SS (P) 1