14 February 2004	Saturday	22 Zilhaj 1424

BAGHDAD, Feb 13: The UN envoy sent to Iraq to see if early elections were feasible said on Friday credibility was more important than timing, after one of his aides ruled out holding polls before Washington hands back power in June.

The United Nations is trying to resolve a dispute between Iraq's Shias, who want elections before the transfer, and Washington, which says there is not enough time to organize them.

"The demand of the Iraqi street for elections is a legitimate request, but the Iraqi street must know that elections are a very complicated process," said Lakhdar Brahimi, an adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"The benefits the street is hoping for cannot be achieved unless there are good preparations for those elections and they are conducted at a time when everybody can accept the result," he said at a news conference in Baghdad.

Mr Brahimi would not speculate on when that might be. Earlier on Friday, his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told BBC radio there was no question of delaying the June 30 handover or holding elections before then.

"Elections will take place when the country is ready and that will be after the handover of power," Mr Fawzi said. Mr Annan is expected to give his verdict on the findings of Mr Brahimi's team in a week to 10 days.

Asked if he was worried civil war might erupt in Iraq, Mr Brahimi said he was optimistic that it would not because of the willingness of Iraqis he spoke to "to find a middle ground" in shaping the nation. But he said Iraq had not ensured itself a peaceful future. "...there are very, very serious dangers," Mr Brahimi said. "Civil wars happen because people are reckless, because people are selfish, because groups think more of themselves than their country."

Calls for early elections have been led by Iraq's most revered Shia leader, Ayatollah Ali al Sistani. Mr Brahimi met the ayatollah on Thursday and said they agreed that thorough preparations were essential to credible elections. It was not clear if that agreement stretched to delaying polls.

Ayatollah Sistani's reaction to the UN advice to delay polls until after June 30 will dictate how the Shia population reacts.

Some Shias in Ayatollah Sistani's home town, Najaf, threatened revolt if they did not get their way. "We are all behind Sistani, and Shias all have arms," said Hussein Khalifa, a 43-year-old community elder.

CAUCUS IDEA UNPOPULAR: Washington had planned to hold regional caucuses to pick a transitional government that would rule Iraq until 2005, but diplomats say UN officials and US envoys in Baghdad think the idea is too unpopular and will be scrapped.

Mr Brahimi said the caucus system would at the very least need "considerable improvements". He said the transitional government would not last long, would not have extensive powers and would cede to an elected body as soon as possible.

"(Ayatollah Sistani and I) agree that it's the government that comes out of the ballot box that is going to make the important decisions about Iraq's future," he said.

Not all Iraqis favour quick elections. The Sunnis fear an early vote would leave it at the mercy of Shias and Kurds. Iraq also needs electoral laws and registers, one of the reasons Washington wants to delay polls. -Reuters