An earlier draft of the election law sparked protests from Kurds in the city of Kirkuk [File: EPA]

The law will now be sent to Iraq's three-member presidency council, headed by Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, for approval.

Talabani rejected an earlier version of the law after it was passed at parliamentary session in July, which had been boycotted by Kurdish parties and some Shia MPs.

Salim al-Jubouri, a senior member from the Sunni Arab Accordance Front, said the law had been passed unanimously after a number of concessions were made over the Kirkuk issue.

He said there would be a separate law for dealing with elections in Kirkuk as well as a power sharing formula for the city's administration.

Kurdish politicans had objected to a power-sharing arrangement for the oil-rich area, which they want to incorporate into their autonomous region in the north.

On Wednesday, Kurdish, Shia, Sunni and Turkomen politicians agreed to form a parliamentary committee to review disputes regarding Kirkuk and report to the
house by March 2009.

Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the parliamentary speaker, and the electoral commission had been urging a speedy resolution of the impasse over the elections law to enable a vote to take place before the end of the year.

The polls were scheduled to take place on October 1, but on Wednesday they set a deadline of January 1, 2009 for the vote.

Washinton had been pushing Iraq to reach a compromise so that the local elections, which it believes will help reconcile rival ethnic groups, be held.

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