definitely, maybe

"Way back on September 16, I succumbed to optimism on the Iraqi provincial elections law based on reports in the Iraqi press that a deal had been reached. I was particularly pleased about this because of very credible rumors (and a proliferation of statements by UIA and other prominent figures) that a deal had been reached to give up on the Parliamentary track and instead revert to the rules which governed the 2005 provincial elections, which would likely have helped the current ruling elites hold on to power and generate great frustration for the currently excluded groups which hope to gain political power through the elections (especially the Sunni Awakenings groupings). I argued then, as I have for months, that it was better to get the rules right than to rush to hold the elections by a particular date (in this case the end of December). And then, of course, the deal in Parliament collapsed and weeks went by without a vote while the rumors of a bad deal escalated.

Thankfully, today it appears that the impasse has finally been broken as the Parliament overwhelmingly passed a new provincial elections law based on a compromise on Kirkuk engineered by the tireless UN envoy Staffan de Mistura. (There is some disagreement in the reporting as to whether this was a vote by consensus or by a majority of the 191 members present out of 275, but either way it passed.) What's more, they have agreed to push back the deadline for voting until January 31, 2009 (in the non-KRG provinces and Tamim province with Kirkuk). This will allow enough time for the Iraqi High Elections Commission (which will determine the exact date) to adequately prepare and organize and for the various political blocs to mobilize for the campaign."
Abu Aardvark