UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14: UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Iraq, Mr Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, has expressed confidence that the Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq (IECI) will be able to hold a credible, transparent and fair ballot
on Jan 30 despite overwhelming concerns over the security situation and the issue of political inclusiveness.
Mr Qazi told a press conference on Monday that it was clear that an overwhelming majority of Iraqis wanted to participate in the crucial national elections, which would launch the next phase of Iraq's political transformation.
"Subsequent agreement on a draft constitution by mid-August 2005, would be out to the Iraqi people in a referendum due to be held next October, hopefully to be followed by elections under the new constitution at the end of next year," he added.
Mr Qazi, who briefed the UN Security Council on the latest developments in Iraq, said that although the logistics were in place to hold the ballot successfully, there were concerns that some of the major constituents of the Iraqi polity might turn out in lower numbers, which could have an adverse impact on the perception of the election.
"Therefore, as the (special UN representative), my efforts are focused on assisting and supporting the interim government in its political outreach," Mr Qazi said, adding that the new government had already undertaken efforts to that end and that his office stood ready to provide further assistance in weeks to come so that the electoral process took place within a secure an environment as far as possible.
Turning to security, he said the situation differed from place to place throughout the country with some areas expected to witness quite a heavy voter turnout, while there were others where the security, as well as political situations, were still matters of concern. Those areas and situations, he said, needed to be addressed in order to ensure that the process was as inclusive as possible.
When asked whether he had held talks with Arab nationalists or other groups about their participation in the electoral process, he said the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was to promote dialogue, compromise, national reconciliation and to help the political process. Keeping this objective in view, the UNAMI team had been in contact with Iraqi political parties.
Mr Qazi said he had met representatives of both Shia, Sunni and Kurd groups and parties. As for Arab nationalists, he said he and his team met delegations from Falluja, as well as the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) and the National Founding Conference of Iraq, which was an umbrella group for many such organizations.
Mr Qazi said there was a high level of mistrust among some of the parties, not to mention the ongoing political transformation and the traumatic developments that had taken place in Iraq. So, he said, it was not so surprising that some of the parties were very wary and suspicious or quick to reach negative assessment of some of their opponents.
