BAGHDAD, July 1 (Reuters) - Provincial Iraqi elections will be held in 2007 as planned, Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday, referring to a key benchmark set by Washington for the country's political reform. "We are determined to hold the provincial elections this year," he said in a statement after meeting the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. He gave no date for the elections, which is one of the yardsticks being used by the United States to measure steps to reconcile majority Shi'ite with minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds. Sunnis largely boycotted provincial elections held in January 2005 and are under-represented in many areas where they are numerically dominant. Washington hopes this and other reforms will help to stem sectarian violence pushing the country towards civil war. U.S. President George W. Bush has sent 28,000 extra troops to the country to curb the violence and win Maliki, a Shi'ite, breathing space to push forward with the process. The other important benchmarks are a new oil law to share revenues more fairly, changes to allow some former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to serve in the Iraqi military or government, and a review of the country's constitution. Washington wants to see results by September, when a progress report on Bush's Iraq strategy is due to be handed to U.S. lawmakers, who are increasingly sceptical of his handling of the war. Maliki also said he had asked the Commission to find a way to make sure Iraqis can vote even if they have left the country, or have moved to another part of the country. Refugee agencies estimate that around four million Iraqis have been driven from their homes by sectarian bloodshed. About half are living as refugees in neighbouring countries like Syria and Jordan, and the rest have taken refuge with family and friends, or in communities that share their religious or sectarian background.
