Iraqi President Barham Salih vowed yesterday to hold early elections after enacting a new "convincing election law" for the people and replacing the electoral commission with a truly independent commission.

In detail, Saleh announced in a televised speech under the pressure of ongoing demonstrations in the street to demand the resignation of the government and early elections, a rejection of the political class accused of corruption that «Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi agreed to resign, asking the political blocs to understand an acceptable alternative, in light of the commitment to contexts Constitutional and legal, and to prevent a constitutional vacuum ».

He added, "We in the presidency of the Republic have already begun an ongoing work for a new election law convincing the people, which addresses the problems of the previous law, and allows for fairer and more representative elections for the interests of the people."

He expected that the draft law will be presented next week «in cooperation between the departments of the Presidency and a number of experts and independent experts, in addition to experts of the United Nations».

The President of the Republic received yesterday in a closed session representatives of the main parties in the country to discuss the fate of Abdul-Mahdi, according to a source told AFP in his office.

"We are going to resolve the issue," the source said, without specifying what mechanism the participants had decided.

Abdul-Mahdi, 77, took power a year ago through an alliance between Sadr's leader Moqtada al-Sadr, who has the largest parliamentary bloc in the House of Representatives, and the leader of the "conquest" Hadi al-Amiri.

Sadr this week called on the prime minister to resign and hold early elections.

The speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Mohamed Halbousi, announced yesterday, the adjournment of the parliament session for the absence of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Halbousi said in a press statement: «We sent an official letter to the Office of the Prime Minister on the request for hosting, and the meeting was adjourned for the absence of the Prime Minister».

The Iraqi parliament held, yesterday, a session during which a number of bills and demands of demonstrators were discussed.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces killed a demonstrator and wounded more than 50 others yesterday, as tens of thousands resumed mass protests calling for an end to the sectarian power-sharing system they see as causing widespread corruption and economic hardship.

More than 250 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and pro-government paramilitary groups since protests began on October 1, which has turned into the worst unrest in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

The demonstrator died in the capital early yesterday morning, when security forces fired a tear gas canister on his chest, becoming the latest to die from injuries related to tear gas canisters. In Diwaniya, the largest demonstrations have taken place since the beginning of the protests, and students, teachers and staff in the city declared a general strike.

In Nasiriyah, Samawah and Amara, also in the south, protesters rallied again.

In the oil city of Basra, demonstrators on several occasions blocked roads leading to the port of Umm Qasr, raising concern about the import of food, according to the authorities.

- Iraqi protester killed as mass protests resume in Baghdad.