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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Iraq Lawmakers Overcome Rifts, Pass Key Laws

Long deadlock had threatened to dissolve young parliament

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(Newser) – A day after the speaker of Iraq’s parliament threatened to disband the legislature, lawmakers passed three key but divisive laws after months of infighting, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The measures—passage of a federal budget, limited amnesty for prisoners, and curbs on the powers of local governments—allowed Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis all to claim victory, the New York Times says.

Kurds won a 17% share of this year’s $48 billion budget, Shiites secured a pre-October date for provincial elections, and Sunnis pushed for amnesty because 80% of detainees in Iraqi jails belong to their sect. “Today we have a wedding party for the Iraqi parliament,” the speaker said today, but critics complained the bundled legislation was unconstitutional, the AP reports.

Iraq's Kurds scored a major victory today, when the country's legislature agreed to allocate 17 percent of the $48 billion federal budget to Kurdistan, the semi-autonomous region in Iraq's north, the Christian Science Monitor reports. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Iraq's Kurds scored a major victory today, when the country's legislature agreed to allocate 17 percent of the $48 billion federal budget to Kurdistan, the semi-autonomous region in Iraq's north, the...   (Associated Press)
A newly released prisoner kisses his relative in Al-Rashid area south of Baghdad on February 13, 2008. Iraqi lawmakers passed three laws today, including a limited amnesty for those in Iraqi prisons, who number about 24,000, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The Sunni bloc of Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi...
A newly released prisoner kisses his relative in Al-Rashid area south of Baghdad on February 13, 2008. Iraqi lawmakers passed three laws today, including a limited amnesty for those in Iraqi prisons,...   (Getty Images)
Iraqi lawmakers passed three key laws today, providing a much-needed boon to the efforts of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to heal the sectarian wounds that had divided the country, the Christian Science Monitor reports. (AP Photo/Ed Betz)
Iraqi lawmakers passed three key laws today, providing a much-needed boon to the efforts of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to heal the sectarian wounds that had divided the country, the Christian Science...   (Associated Press)
Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Iraqi parliament's largest bloc, appears in Najaf, Iraq. Iraqi lawmakers passed three key laws today, including a 2008 budget, limited amnesty for prisoners, and expanded power for provincial and local governments, the Christian Science Monitor reports. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)
Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Iraqi parliament's largest bloc, appears in Najaf, Iraq. Iraqi lawmakers passed three key laws today, including a 2008 budget, limited amnesty for prisoners,...   (Associated Press)
The speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashadani threatened yesterday to disband Iraq's parliament because of mistrust among its members, but today, the legislature passed three key laws, including a 2008 budget, the Christian Science Monitor reports. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
The speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashadani threatened yesterday to disband Iraq's parliament because of mistrust among its members, but today, the legislature passed three key laws, including...   (Associated Press)
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