BAGHDAD – The Iraqi parliament Monday approved new board members for the country’s election commission after months of deadlock over the vote-organizing body’s makeup, an MP said.



Samira Al-Mussawi, a member of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition, said that parliament – after “deep disagreements’ between MPs – approved eight new members for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).



Four members came from the Shiite National Alliance, two from the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya, and two from the Kurdish Alliance.



The yet to be selected ninth member must be from an Iraqi minority, Mussawi said, adding that under a deal reached between the various blocs, there will also be nine deputies from blocs not represented among the nine members of the board.— AFP