UN envoy confers with Iraqi electoral commission on January polls

As part of the United Nations role in helping Iraq organize elections after last year's United States invasion, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met today with the country's Independent Electoral Commission.

He was briefed by Commission Chairman Abed Al Hussein Hindawi on the progress made in preparing for the polls scheduled to take place towards the end of January.

Mr. Qazi assured Mr. Hindawi and the Commission members that the UN would continue to do every thing it can to enable the Commission to carry out its task of organizing the country's first democratic elections.

Mr. Qazi, who hosted Mr. Hindawi and his colleagues for an Iftar (the post-sunset meal during the Ramadan fast) at his residence, stressed that the UN remained committed to advancing the political process in Iraq, underlining that the holding of credible elections represented a key milestone in the process.