Elections to cover the whole country

 

Azzaman, 2004-09-26

 

Plans for holding national elections are going ahead as usual and no part of the country will be excluded, the Electoral Commission said.

 

Fareed Ayar, the commission’s spokesman said, the January balloting will take place across the country.

 

“We have no plans to exclude a specific area. Elections will take place every where in Iraq,” he said.

 

The commission has begun a campaign to educate Iraqis about balloting and free voting.

 

Ayar urged Iraqis not to pay attention to statements from Iraq or abroad about the balloting process and whether the elections will be comprehensive.

 

He said the commission is independent even of the interim government of Ayad Allawi and its rulings will be binding to all parties.

 

He urged officials with interest in Iraqi affairs, whether inside or outside the country “to be careful when giving statements about the elections.

 

“Interpretations which are not based on facts will be harmful to the electoral process,” he said.

 

He denied reports that the commission was lagging behind regarding matters like lists of legible voters, voting centers and ballot boxes.

 

He said the commission had already prepared ballot lists “which have been drawn in accordance to international standards and with the assistance of UN experts.”

 

He said in order to have free and fair elections the electoral lists are kept with the commission and will not be made available even to government officials.

 

A team of six UN experts is in Iraq to advise the commission.

 

However, the experts are bound to their Baghdad office for fear of kidnapping.

 

Ayar said the commission was ready to supply officials with the necessary information regarding the elections.

 

He urged them to get in touch with the commission for information before making public statements.