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Iraqi Officials Begin Voting Workshop
Authorities from Mexico and five other countries are sharing their experiences with nine members of the newly appointed Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. Luis Carlos Ugalde, president of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute, offered no easy answers on how to forge free and fair elections in violence-wracked Iraq. "When it comes to elections, there are no universal models or generic applications," Ugalde said. "There are successful experiences that each country should adopt according to its own demographic, cultural, religious economic and geographic reality." Mexico could be one model for an Iraq with little recent experience of free elections. Freed from direct governmental control in 1996, Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute has overseen a series of elections widely praised for their credibility. Among those was the 2000 election of the first opposition-party presidential candidate, Vicente Fox. Carina Perelli, director of the U.N. Electoral Assistance Division, said Mexico's experience over the past 10 years as an adviser in foreign elections made it a natural choice to hold the workshops. She cited "a strong and respected tradition of independent elections." Institute officials have advised 22 countries - including Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Bolivia and East Timor. Argentina, Spain, Mauritius, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority are also here to help Iraq in the Mexico-based workshops, which are expected to last more than two weeks.
The commission's work is only just beginning as Iraqis prepare to take over power, at least formally, from the U.S.-led occupation on June 30. According to the U.N. deadline, they are to hold elections by the end of January 2005. Posted by: Steve White 2004-06-22 |
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