BAGHDAD, Feb 7: The head of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council said on Saturday that a UN ruling on the feasibility of elections demanded by Ayatollah Sistani would not be binding, and that Iraqis must settle the question themselves.

US plans for a political exit from Iraq have been shaken by calls from the top religious authority among Shias for direct elections.

The US-led occupation authority says Iraq lacks the voter rolls and laws for a proper election by the deadline for a transfer of sovereignty, a view echoed by some Iraqi politicians.

A United Nations team arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to make its own assessment.

The Governing Council asked the world body to help settle the elections question, but Mohsin Abdel Hamid, who holds the Council's rotating presidency, said that Iraqis themselves would have to take the final decision about a vote.-Reuters