Iraqi parliament postponed on Saturday a vote on whether to overturn the vice president Tariq al-Hashemi's veto of the country's new elections law.
 
"The vote is postponed until tomorrow," parliament speaker Iyad al-Samarrai told reporters on Saturday, after a further day of meetings failed to resolve a dispute on a key provision in the law which will govern the national poll.
 
"Iraqi MPs did not reach a consensus during today's session over the issue. They decided to postpone discussions till Sunday," Iraqi lawmaker Ezzeddin al-Dawla told told the German Press Agency.
 
The issue at the heart of the veto is what percentage of seats in the new parliament will be chosen by expatriate Iraqi voters.
 
According to al-Dawla, MPs were divided during Saturday's discussions, with "a majority calling for a rejection of al-Hashemi's demand." A few, al-Dawla said, "sought a compromise of reserving 10 per cent of the seats for expatriates."
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