Iraqi Vice-President Al-Hashemi must approve the election law but Erbil is raising questions about perceived attempts to limit the number of Kurdish seats

Below is an article published by VOA News:

Iraq's electoral commission says it has halted preparations for a general election in January after the country's Sunni Arab vice president vetoed part of a key election law.
 
Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi announced Wednesday (11 November) that he is sending the law back to parliament to be amended.  He says he wants more representation for Iraqis living abroad, many of whom are Sunni Arabs.

Al-Hashemi is one of three members of Iraq's presidential council, which must approve the law before elections can be held.

Lawmakers must now re-open discussion of the legislation.

A member of Iraq's electoral commission, Qassim al-Aboudi, said the move will certainly delay the elections.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned al-Hashemi's veto, calling it a threat to democracy and the political process.

In another development, the president of Iraq's Kurdistan region has warned that the people of Kurdistan may boycott the general election unless the region is allocated more seats in parliament.

Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said the current system for allocating parliamentary seats will prevent the people of the autonomous Kurdish region from being able to participate in the vote.

His chief of staff, Fuad Hussein, said the Kurdistan leader believes the current system is designed to reduce the number of Kurdish seats.

Iraqis will be casting ballots to fill 323 parliamentary seats.  That number is up from 275 in the current parliament, based on a formula that calls for one representative for every 100,000 Iraqis.