Stage set for Iraqi provincial elections

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's three-man presidency council on Wednesday approved draft legislation for provincial elections, reversing an earlier decision.

The Bush administration had set the measure as one of its benchmarks to foster political reconciliation in Iraq.

After Iraq's parliament approved the measure in February, United Nations and Iraqi officials began efforts to stage provincial elections by October 1.

One member of the council -- comprising President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite; and Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab -- vetoed the legislation.

The Iraqi government did not reveal who used the veto. But Nassar al-Rubaie, a lawmaker from the Shiite Sadrist bloc, said that Abdul-Mahdi -- affiliated with a rival Shiite party -- had blocked the law for partisan reasons.

Abdul-Mahdi's office could not be reached for comment.

The legislation was thought to be at odds with the constitution because it limits the powers of provincial governors, the office of Naseer al-Ani, the secretary-general of the presidency council, told CNN on Thursday. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.