Iraq sets date for parliamentary elections

Iraq’s three-member presidential council today set March 6 as the date for the country’s parliamentary elections – a more than seven-week delay from the initially scheduled vote.

The head of Iraq’s election commission, Faraj al-Haidari, says the council approved postponing the election from January 16 to give officials enough time to organise the nationwide vote.

Officials were forced to postpone the elections after months of wrangling over a new law that provides guidelines for the landmark vote in Iraq.