Iraq parties begin registering for 2010 parliamentary elections

Aug 4, 2009, 8:28 GMT

Baghdad - Parties may register to stand in January's parliamentary elections starting this week, Iraq's electoral commission announced on Tuesday.

New and existing parties have from Wednesday until August 14 to submit their applications to participate in the January 2010 polls, Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said.

The announcement came despite the parliament's failure to agree on a new law to cover the conduct of the elections.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Iraqi parliament to pass a new electoral law.

'Now is the time for political leaders to demonstrate statesmanship, rising beyond their differences and narrow interests, and prove to the Iraqi people that sovereignty comes with responsibility and accountability ... ' he said in his latest report on the activities of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq.

'As we move closer to the parliamentary elections, the challenge will be to maintain the transparency and independence of the Electoral Commission while establishing a strong platform from which to ensure that there is acceptance of the election results,' the secretary general continued.

Failing the adoption of a new law, the elections would be carried out according to the law passed for the last parliamentary polls in 2005.

Iraqi lawmakers began their summer recess at the end of July without settling debates over whether all Iraq should vote as a single voting district and whether voters would be able to influence which candidates a party sends to the parliament.

Iraqi voters choose political parties, and the parties determine what candidates will fill the seats. The debate is over whether they would be able to rank one of a party's candidate over another - whether the list would be 'open' or 'closed.'

Iraqi parliamentarians had also been debating whether the country should vote as a single district. Large parties favour that system, which might diminish the representation of smaller parties with regional bases.