BAGHDAD — Lawmakers approved plans Sunday to hold parliament elections early next year that are seen as an important step toward political reconciliation and easing the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The vote, at a session convened just before a midnight deadline, followed marathon talks by political leaders to break an impasse over balloting provisions that would satisfy the nation’s rival groups.
“I would like to congratulate the Iraqi people for this historical victory,” said Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who had held up the elections for weeks with a veto. He also hailed political leaders for compromises that “got Iraq out from the bottleneck and out of a problem.”
A failure to pass new elections rules Sunday would have forced Iraq to revert to those used in its last parliament election in 2005 and likely throw the political process into a tailspin.
Plans for the election had been mired for weeks over al-Hashemi’s demands for a greater political voice for minority Sunnis and a change in distribution of seats in Iraq’s expanded 325-seat parliament.
The election is scheduled for Jan. 16, but a delay of a month or more appears likely. A longer postponement could have complicated the withdrawal timetable for U.S. forces, which are scheduled to end combat missions in August.
