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| Annan sez early Iraqi elections impossible |
| 2004-02-20 |
| Excerpted from a larger article ... UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ruled out holding of elections in Iraq before US forces hand over power in June. âThere seems to be general acceptance of the fact that it is not going to be possible to arrange an election between now and the end of June,â Annan said in an interview with Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun. Elections had to be properly organised and the conditions had to be right with security, and the political and legal instruments ready for the elections, the UN chief told Japanâs biggest-selling daily at UN headquarters in New York. âSo I think the conclusion then will have to be that elections before the end of June may not be possible, but there will have to be better organised elections later on,â Annan said. âOnce the interim or caretaker government has been established, we will work with them ... but a secure environment has to be created for us to carry on that,â he said. Mr Annan was to meet on Thursday with his special adviser Lakhdar Brahimi, who led a one-week fact-finding mission to Iraq and poured cold water on the hopes of Iraqi Shiites seeking elections before June 30. âWe are still waiting for the findings of Mr Brahimi and the final decisions of Mr Annan, Mr Brahimi and the United Nations,â said Haytham al-Husseini, a top official with the main Shiite political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 We probably told him that the UN would have to have observers at each polling place if the elections were to be held in June. That sealed his decision. |
| Posted by: SamIII 2004-2-20 8:58:40 AM |