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Iraq lawmakers approve election law
Iraqi lawmakers ended a governmental crisis today by passing an election law just before a midnight deadline, after intense wrangling among the sides and, according to several participants, late phone calls from President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
The law paves the way for national elections to be held most likely by the end of February, according to U.N. officials and Iraqi lawmakers. The vote is considered a test of Iraq's democratic ambitions as American troops here are scheduled to start their withdrawal this spring and draw down to 50,000 by the end of August.
The deadlock threatened to revive simmering sectarian and ethnic tensions, as well as cast doubts on the legitimacy of the political process as parties appeared ready to indulge in electoral brinkmanship, with memories of civil warfare in 2006 and 2007 still fresh.
Negotiations went on from morning until night as Iraqi politicians and U.S. and United Nations diplomats huddled in the Iraqi parliament building. This evening, many lawmakers were predicting failure as the Kurdish bloc held out for a higher number of seats than what was promised in a compromise document that had been on the table for several days.