Talks between UN envoy and Iraqi Foreign Minister focus on elections

The United Nations envoy for Iraq, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, met with Foreign Minister Hoshiar Zubari today for talks on the upcoming international conference on Iraq as well as the security situation and preparations for the country's first democratic elections slated for next January.

Mr. Qazi reiterated his satisfaction with the work of UN experts who have been providing technical assistance to the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission. He said work was proceeding as planned, and noted that he expected the number of electoral workers to increase, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York.

The UN envoy also told the Foreign Minister that it was never envisaged that the number of electoral workers deployed in Iraq would reach the number sent to Afghanistan due to major differences in the nature and scope of the work undertaken by the United Nations in the two countries, the spokesman added.

Mr. Qazi stressed that the United Nations would continue to work with the Iraqi interim government and will devote every possible resource to ensure a successful political transition process.

He said that realistic conditions, namely the security situation, were a major factor in determining the scope of work and the number of UN staff deployed in the country.

Also today, Mr. Qazi visited the headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni organization, and met with its leader, Sheikh Harith al-Dahri, and other senior members.

Mr. Qazi was briefed by Sheikh al-Dahri on the organization's stand on the political process in the Iraq, especially the elections and the international conference. The envoy told the group the UN was doing all it could to help Iraq through the transitional process and that the UN stood ready to assist efforts to achieve national reconciliation, Mr. Eckhard said.

There are currently eight electoral experts among the 35 UN international staff in Iraq, with plans to increase the number of electoral experts while staying within the security ceiling, the spokesman said in response to questions at the daily briefing.

The intention, he added, was to send in up to 25 more electoral experts once the security situation allowed. Part of that equation would lie in the protection elements that the United Nations has tried to put in place.

There was no progress to report, however, either on close protection forces or on an outer protection ring provided by the multinational force, Mr. Eckhard said. The United Nations did not yet have a Member State prepared to provide the protective elements with the necessary equipment.