Iraq Election Law Veto Could Delay Vote

Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi said Wednesday that he had vetoed Iraq’s new election law, throwing preparations for the January voting into disarray.

Any postponement of the Jan. 18 election could affect the schedule for withdrawal of American troops, although the American commanding general said he was “flexible” in the event of a delay.

Both of Iraq’s vice presidents, one a Sunni, the other a Shiite, as well as the president, who is a Kurd, can veto legislation.

Shortly after the vice president’s announcement, Iraq’s Independent High Election Commission suspended preparations for the vote, according to Hamdiya Husseini, the head of the commission.

Mr. Hashemi, the vice president who represents Sunnis, said he had objected to a clause in the law giving only 5 percent of the seats in Parliament to minorities and Iraqi refugees abroad. Iraq has a population of 25 million, of whom 2 million — 8 percent — live abroad.