URGENT – PB unanimously approves election law

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Presidential Board (PB) on Tuesday endorsed the provincial councils election law with the unanimity of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and his Vice Presidents Adel Abdelmahdi and Tareq al-Hashemi, the presidential cabinet chief said. “The law was approved by the PB and article 50 was referred to parliament as a draft law from the board,” Nusseir al-Aani said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com. The Iraqi parliament had passed on September 24 the provincial council law. However, its canceling of article 50 of the law, which provided for set quotas for minorities, raised hue and cry as several political and social organizations advocating minorities’ rights condemned the measure. AmR (P) 1