Semi-unanimity to include article 50 in special law – MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: MP from al-Rafidayn List Younadem Kana said on Tuesday that there is a semi-unanimity to include article 50 of the elections law, which provided for set quotas for minorities, in a special law. “The option presented in the parliament is to enact a special law to include article 50 and there is a semi-unanimity among political blocs on this opinion,” Kana told IraqiNews.com. The presidential cabinet chief had said earlier that the Presidential Board (PB) on Tuesday endorsed the provincial councils election law with the unanimity of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and his Vice Presidents Adel Abdelmahdi and Tareq al-Hashemi. “The law was approved by the PB and article 50 was referred to parliament as a draft law from the board,” Nusseir al-Aani said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com. The Iraqi parliament had passed on September 24 the provincial council law. However, its canceling of article 50 of the law, which provided for set quotas for minorities, raised hue and cry as several political and social organizations advocating minorities’ rights condemned the measure. SH (P) 1