Baghdad , Iraq ( CNN ) -- The fate of Iraq 's newly revised election law again hinges on the approval of the country 's Sunni Arab vice president , who is under pressure to sign the much-contested plan . The new bill has been approved by the other two members of the presidency council . Adel Abdul Mahdi , the country 's Shiite vice president , issued a statement Thursday saying he and President Jalal Talabani , who is Kurdish , have put their signatures on it . But Tariq al-Hashimi , the country 's Sunni Arab vice president , who vetoed the original election bill last week , continues to threaten to veto this revised measure , and Mahdi and Talabani are trying to persuade him to sign the document . Al-Hashimi 's vote is key because in Iraq , legislation passed by the parliament must be ratified unanimously by the presidency council , made up of the country 's two vice presidents and the president . `` All the efforts are devoted to have the entire presidency council approval on the the law , coming from the joint concern about elections to take place in the specified date , '' Mahdi said in a statement . But al-Hashimi said Wednesday that the `` veto is still an option and it will be used if I find that the current law does n't conform to the [ Iraqi ] justice and the constitution . '' The upcoming parliamentary elections and a law setting down rules for elections are seen as important barometers of Iraqi progress toward stability . The election is also key step in plans for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq , About 115,000 American troops remain in Iraq , and the Obama administration plans to pull all but 30,000 to 50,000 of them out of the country by August . Al-Hashimi vetoed the Iraqi parliament 's first election law last week , arguing it failed to provide enough seats for Iraqi refugees , many of whom are Sunnis . A revised bill passed by Iraq 's parliament on Monday remains `` unconstitutional and unfair , '' al-Hashimi said in a statement issued by his office . The previous law `` was more fair to Iraqis than the new law , which Mr. al-Hashimi will deal with just like he dealt with the previous one , '' the statement said . Iraq 's constitution calls for elections by January 31 . Disputes over how seats will be allocated in a new parliament have put the vote in jeopardy . Lawmakers need a two-thirds majority to override a veto , but Iraq 's parliament adjourned until December 8 after passing Monday 's revised bill . Iraq 's top electoral commission -- saying it needs 60 days to prepare for voting -- announced last week that a January vote is unlikely . Al-Hashimi said the election bill is unfair to Iraqis who were forced to flee violence in their homeland , and he refused to sign it without an amendment that would increase the number of seats allocated to refugees and small political parties that could not get enough votes on a national level . In addition to al-Hashimi 's objections , Kurdish leaders had threatened to boycott the upcoming vote unless provinces with heavy Kurdish populations get greater representation in the next parliament . The law that parliament passed Monday included revisions the Kurds had sought , but not those al-Hashimi demanded . Al-Hashimi 's office said the new law was passed without `` national accordance '' and outside parliament 's usual way to deal with `` sensitive national legislation of this caliber . '' `` What happened constitutes a dangerous precedent that will negatively overshadow the overall political process , '' the statement said . Asked whether the political holdups in passing a law will mean a delay in the election and troop withdrawals , U.S. Gen. Ray Odierno told CNN Thursday that the withdrawal schedule is not as important as getting a law . `` Their democratic process is working , and I think it 's important that they have a law that everyone will accept so we can move forward together -- that 's the most important thing . I believe we have enough flexibility we 'll be able to mitigate it and we 'll be able to go on and have successful elections , '' said Odierno , the top U.S. commander in Iraq .
Laws passed by Iraqi parliament must be approved by president and his vice presidents . One VP , Sunni Hassan al - Hashimi , holding off on signing new election law . Al - Hashimi rejected previous version of bill last year , because it left out Iraqi refugees . Iraq 's president and other VP trying to persuade al - Hashimi to sign the bill .