The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

Concerns from Iraq's Sunni bloc on Saturday saw MPs fail again to agree a law for next year's general election, fuelling doubts that the vote will go ahead on January 16 as planned.

The election is viewed crucial to consolidating Iraq's fledgling democracy ahead of a withdrawal of US combat troops by August next year and a complete pullout of American forces by the end of 2011. A request from Sunni MPs for more time to study provisions governing the vote in Kirkuk, a disputed and ethnically-mixed province of Kurds, Sunnis and Turkmen, saw off hopes of the law being passed on Saturday.

Parliament speaker Iyad al-Samarrai, a Sunni, said MPs would reconvene on Sunday in a further attempt to agree the law.

"The Kirkuk proposal is aimed at settling the dispute but it came suddenly and we need time to study and frame those ideas," he said.