Not good. So much for nation building Mr. Cheney: Vote in Iraq reinforces divisions that have previously threatened to plunge country into civil war.

From The New York Times:

Iraq’s tortuous effort to hold its parliamentary election on schedule in January collapsed Monday, raising the prospect of a political and constitutional crisis next year as the United States begins withdrawing the majority of its combat troops.

The moves deepened a crisis that had fleetingly seemed resolved after months of wrangling over how to set up the vote, widely seen as a barometer of Iraq’s progress toward democracy.

The failure to agree on even the terms of the election has inflamed ethnic and sectarian tensions that had waned somewhat in the last year or so. The dispute underscored the depth of mistrust that remains despite improvements in security and campaign pledges by major coalitions to unite Iraq.

The Obama administration and the American commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, have long planned the withdrawal of American forces around the expectation that the election would take place in January.

The vote reinforced divisions that have previously threatened to plunge the country into civil war, with Sunnis feeling disenfranchised by a Shiite-led government.
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And from The Washington Post:

Iraqi lawmakers on Monday approved an amended law to organize parliamentary elections next year, a ballot seen as crucial to U.S. plans to withdraw combat troops.

The law was pushed through by Shiite and Kurdish legislators over the objection of Sunni Arabs. Its passage was the latest turn in protracted efforts to agree on an election law that has roiled Iraqi politics and underscored the divisions that dominate political life here.

The voting also suggested a scenario that U.S. officials have dreaded: a repeat of the 2005 election in which Sunnis were aggrieved and effectively disenfranchised, setting the stage for civil strife.

The election law is key to U.S. plans to withdraw combat troops from Iraq next August, reducing the military presence from 115,000 troops to 50,000. But the timeline for that pullout depends on the success of the elections, which will choose a new parliament.