A long-awaited election law that the Iraqi government said will allow national elections to take place in January was passed on Sunday by the parliament.

Officials had hoped to hold elections January 16, but Iraq’s election commission said Sunday the elections will take place later than that–but before January 31, the constitutional deadline.

The passage of the law is “a historic victory of the will of the Iraqi people” and a “strong response against the terrorists and the former regime members who are trying to undermine security and undermine the political process and return the country to the dark ages, injustice, tyranny, and discrimination,” Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a statement.

The step is “an important milestone as the Iraqi people continue to take responsibility for their future,” US President Barack Obama told reporters at the White House. He added that the Iraqi leaders’ “flexibility and commitment to their country sends an important signal to the world about Iraq’s democracy and national unity, and I look forward to prompt approval of this law by Iraq’s presidency council.”

(article and photo source: CNN)