22 January 2004
Iraqi Leader Seeks U.N. Guidance on Holding Elections
Adnan Pachachi says return of sovereignty is Iraqis' first priority
By Phillip Kurata
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
Washington -- The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Adnan Pachachi, has requested that the United Nations send a team of technical experts to Iraq to assess the feasibility of holding elections before the occupying coalition restores sovereignty to Iraq at the end of June.
Pachachi said he believes that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will agree to his request, although Annan has expressed doubts that there is enough time to hold fair and credible elections before the restoration of sovereignty by June 30.
"A large segment of Iraqi public opinion feels that there is a possibility that elections, in fact, are feasible during the next few months, and therefore we want to have an expert opinion from an objective and neutral side like the United Nations," Pachachi said at the National Press Club in Washington January 21.
Pachachi said the Iraqi Governing Council, which is administering the country under the supervision of the occupying Coalition Provisional Authority, would like to receive a U.N. feasibility report by February 21, before Iraq's basic law is enacted at the end of February.
Pachachi said in principle the council favors holding elections but is willing to consider the alternative of organizing caucuses in Iraq's 18 provinces to choose a legislature because of time constraints. He said that proper elections require an electoral law, an office with reliable information about the population, laws ensuring freedom of expression and of assembly, and a judicial authority to guarantee the honesty and fairness of elections.
"All these things take time, and that's why there are doubts whether the three months left are sufficient to have all these laws in place," Pachachi said. He added that Iraq's governing council and people are not willing to delay the restoration of sovereignty for the sake of elections.
"If elections can not be held, we do not want to extend the time of the return of sovereignty and power to the Iraqi government," Pachachi said. "For a lot of Iraqis, if the choice is between having elections and delaying the transfer of sovereignty, they would rather not have elections and make sure that sovereignty shall be transferred in the prescribed time of June 30th."
Pachachi said the council is open to the idea of refining the procedures for the caucuses in order to reach an understanding with Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who has been advocating elections.
"We call it refinement of the whole thing. But I think there is room for improvement. And the whole idea is that these improvements will make the whole process more transparent and more inclusive, which is exactly what Ayatollah Sistani wants. He wants to make sure that the Iraqi people have been properly consulted on this election of the members of the legislative assembly," Pachachi said.
Pachachi said in his discussions with Annan, he requested that the United Nations resurrect its mission in Iraq. He gave assurances that Iraqi police and civilian defense forces, along with foreign troops, will do everything in their power to protect the U.N. personnel. The United Nations temporarily ended its activities in Iraq after a bomb killed the U.N. special envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello in August.
Commenting on his discussions with U.S. officials, Pachachi said he received assurances from Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the United States will keep forces in Iraq after the restoration of sovereignty to help the new government maintain security.
"Iraqis are united on two things. First of all, that had it not been for American military intervention, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today. I think you can ask any Iraqi and he would say, yes, this is the fact. The other thing is that, the majority of Iraqis feel the United States military presence should continue for the time being, until we are able without any outside help to maintain law and order in the country," Pachachi said.
He said he thought forces would be needed in Iraq for one or two years, not for decades.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=January&x=20040122194558CPataruK0.1160089&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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