BAGHDAD, March 14: US plans for transferring power to Iraqis by June 30 are under pressure after Iraq's Governing Council raised doubts about the role the United Nations should play, a senior coalition source said on Sunday.
UN officials were expected to return to Iraq within weeks to help plan for elections to be held next year and shape the government that will resume sovereignty from July 1.
But several members of the Governing Council, a 25-person body appointed by the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, have expressed reservations about the role the UN should play in the process and about its special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.
Shia members of the Council are said to object to the fact that they have to negotiate with Brahimi, a Sunni Muslim with a secular background who they feel cannot fully appreciate their desire for a greater religious role in politics.
"There are on-going discussions with the Iraqi Governing Council on the role of the UN," the source said, acknowledging that Brahimi was at the centre of the debate.
"Crucial discussions need to take place over the coming three and a half months. We need to get a request out of the Governing Council asking for the UN to return as soon as possible," the source said.
Members of the Council are thought to be upset about the report from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that emerged after Brahimi visited Iraq last month to assess the feasibility of holding early, direct elections.
That report said that while direct elections were highly desirable, it would be impossible to organise them by the June 30 sovereignty transfer date, as had been demanded. -Reuters
