Obama urges Iraq to complete election law by January

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged Iraq on Tuesday to complete an election law so that a January poll is not delayed, and he lauded a shift in U.S.-Iraqi relations toward an increased focus on investment and commerce.

Obama, who met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the White House, also said he stood by plans to have all U.S. troops out of the country by 2011.

"We are very interested, both of us, in making sure that Iraq has an election law that is completed on time so that elections can take place on time in January," Obama said, with Maliki at his side.

"That is consistent with the transition that has been taking place, and I re-emphasized my commitment to Prime Minister Maliki that we will have our combat troops out of Iraq by August of next year, and all of our troops out of Iraq by 2011."

The law that will govern the national election in January was initially delayed by a dispute over what kind of voting system should be used -- an open list system under which individual candidates are identified, or a closed list under which voters can only pick parties, not candidates.

Maliki and his coalition are seen as likely to benefit from an open list, while his main Shi'ite Muslim rivals would not.

That debate was superseded this week by controversy over the fate of the city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oilfields.

The United Nations has proposed giving the Kurdish population in Kirkuk an automatic 50 percent plus one vote. Initially accepted by all parties, that proposal is now opposed by Arab legislators.