Sept 25 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament approved a provincial elections law on Wednesday, paving the way for a vote the United States and the United Nations hope will speed up national reconciliation. Following are facts about the elections for seats on Iraq's provincial councils: WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? Parliament needs to submit the law to Iraq's three-member presidency council, headed by President Jalal Talabani, for approval. Talabani rejected an earlier version but given the law on Wednesday was approved unanimously it should be a formality. The Electoral Commission will then need to set a date for the polls. The commission's head said that while much of the organising work had been finished, it might be four to five months before the vote goes ahead. Parliament has urged the vote take place before Jan. 31. WHY HAS THE LAW BEEN CONTROVERSIAL? The elections had been scheduled for Oct. 1, but months of bickering over how to conduct polls in the multi-ethnic northern city of Kirkuk delayed its passage. Kurds believe they are numerically superior in Kirkuk, which they consider their ancient capital and want to fold into their largely autonomous northern region of Kurdistan. Kirkuk's Arabs and ethnic Turkmen want the city to remain under central government authority. In a compromise, elections in Kirkuk will be delayed until a formula satisfactory to all sides has been worked out. Under the law, a committee made up of representatives of the main ethnic groups in Kirkuk -- Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen -- will follow up the issue and present recommendations for resolving the dispute to parliament by March 31. WHAT ARE KEY POINTS OF THE NEW LAW? The law changes some procedures from legislation used for the last local elections in January 2005. One difference is it uses an open list electoral system -- where voters can choose specific candidates. Under the old law, a closed list system was used, where they could only select political parties. The new law does not cover the three provinces of Kurdistan. Polls there will be governed by a separate law that the region's parliament needs to write and pass. WHY ARE THE ELECTIONS IMPORTANT? They are seen as a test of Iraq's democracy and will mark the first vote since national parliamentary elections were held in late 2005. They also occur at a time when violence has plunged to lows not seen since early 2004. Washington hopes the elections will help reconcile rival groups, especially Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last provincial polls and, without a say in most local governments, now feel marginalised in areas where they are numerically dominant. The polls could also lead to tension between competing groups. THE KEY PLAYERS? Analysts say the elections will be a battleground for a power struggle among majority Shi'ites, mostly in the oil-rich south. That is where the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and the movement of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are vying for dominance. The council backs Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and controls most local governments in the south. Sadr's movement largely snubbed the last local polls and the cleric has decided his movement will not compete in the upcoming elections under the Sadr banner. Sadrists will instead join independent groups. The move could be a way of keeping a hand in politics without giving legitimacy to polls held while U.S. forces are still in place. There could also be tension between Sunni Arabs in some provinces, especially in Anbar which is overwhelmingly Sunni. There has been growing mistrust between urbanised Sunni Arab politicians and tribal leaders who rose to prominence as part of a movement that joined with the U.S. military to fight al Qaeda. THE ISSUES FOR VOTERS? One major issue will be government services, which have suffered greatly during decades of war and U.N. sanctions. Another is likely to be corruption as well as the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq. (Writing by Dean Yates, Editing by Samia Nakhoul)
Iraqi Major General Qassim Atta (R), spokesman for Baghdad operations and Iraq's minister of immigration Abul Samad Abdul Rahman (2nd R) listen to a returning displaced resident during a tour of ...
