Iraqi Legislators Walk Out of Parliament

BAGHDAD — Dozens of Iraqi legislators walked out of parliament yesterday to protest parts of a draft law that would lay out rules for provincial elections later this year, marking another potential setback for American-backed proposals to ease sectarian rifts. The walkout postponed a planned vote on the measure on redistributing power in Iraq. The last time Iraqis voted for local officials was January 2005, when nationwide elections ushered in representational government across Iraq for the first time in modern history. But many Sunni Arabs boycotted the polls, giving Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Kurds a much bigger share of power. America hopes the new elections will empower the Sunni minority and blunt support for the insurgency.