UN 'to Explore Iraqi Elections' by BBC World News 10:19am 20th Jan, 2004   Published 19 January, 2004,    The United Nations is considering sending a team to Iraq to explore whether credible elections could be held before power is transferred. After talks with Iraq's interim leaders in New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the UN would have a "role to play" in Iraq from July onwards. The US has sought the return to Iraq of UN staff withdrawn after bomb attacks.    Earlier in Baghdad, thousands of Shia Muslims marched against coalition plans for an appointed government.    Mr Annan said he was studying a request from the US administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer and members of the Iraqi Governing Council to send a team to Iraq to examine the feasibility of holding direct elections by May.    "I am looking at the possibility of sending a mission to Iraq to offer advice on the ground," Mr Annan told reporters. The secretary general said he would make a final decision after further talks.    Under the US plan regional bodies created by the Americans will select a transitional parliament by the end of May.    But Iraq's Shia majority have held mass protests in recent days demanding direct elections. Mr Annan said that plans on both sides were "open to refinements".    Mr Bremer said Iraq's interim leaders hoped the UN "will return to replay a role in Iraq and we hope this happens soon", although the secretary general said any return by the UN to Iraq would be gradual.    Mr Annan withdrew all UN workers after a massive bomb attack on the organisation's offices in Baghdad last August which killed 23 people, including special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.    Mass rally    Monday's protest saw thousands upon thousands of Iraqis marching through the capital, many clasping each other's hands above their heads. "Yes, yes to elections; no, no to selection," was one of the main rallying cries.    The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Baghdad says the Shias - who were repressed for decades by Saddam Hussein - fear they will be marginalised again under the US plan. The rally in Baghdad came four days after a peaceful protest in Basra demanding direct elections.    Any sustained opposition by Iraq's Shias would cause serious problems for the US, correspondents say. The protests add strength to the opposition voiced by Iraq's top Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose support is seen as key to legitimising an Iraqi-led administration.    January 20, 2004    Following is the text of an opening statement at a news conference by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan after a meeting with the Iraqi Governing Council and the US-led occupation, called the Coalition Provisional Authority:    "As you know, I have just been meeting with senior representatives of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority.    "I wanted to hear the assessment of the governing council on how the process in Iraq was evolving and what Iraq expects of the UN by way of assistance. We covered a wide spectrum of issues, including the transitional political process, humanitarian relief, security and the recovery and reconstruction of Iraq.    "In my view, this meeting has been an important opportunity for all of us to get a clearer understanding of each other's positions. I believe we did that. We would all agree that it was a very frank and open exchange of views, which we will aim to continue and broaden in the near future.    "For my part, I would want the UN to concentrate on areas where we have a clear comparative advantage, and which all Iraqis consider vital.    "Further details and discussion are needed to clarify exactly how the UN can best help in the various fields where we have been asked to assist.    "Meanwhile, both the Governing Council and the CPA representatives have expressed a strong wish that the UN should quickly send a technical mission to Iraq to advise on the feasibility of elections within the next few months and, if not, what alternatives might be possible.    "I think we all agree that elections are going to be necessary. Indeed there is provision for two sets of elections in 2005. The issue now is whether the technical, political or security conditions exist for general direct elections to take place as early as May this year.    "Other subjects discussed included the process of drafting and finalising the fundamental law, future appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and the question of security agreements to be concluded between the governing council and the CPA, as provided for in the 15 November agreement.    "Obviously, the scope for operational UN activities inside Iraq will continue to be constrained by the security situation for some time to come.    "The CPA and the governing council offered undertakings that the coalition and the governing council would provide full security for UN international personnel in Iraq.    "Let me state once again that the UN's sole objective is to help the Iraqi people. We would like to see as broad a consensus as possible develop among Iraqis on what needs to be done to bring about an Iraq at peace with itself and with its neighbours. And on the role that the UN can play in this.    "I believe that there is widespread agreement among us that the UN will have an important role to play in working with the Iraqi provisional government from July onward on key constitutional and electoral issues. We agreed that partnership would be necessary and we are also going to be active in recovery, reconstruction and in the humanitarian and human rights fields.    "Meanwhile, as regards a possible role between now and the end of June for the UN, we have agreed that further discussions should take place at the technical level, which would be focused on the most immediate electoral and security issues. On the basis of those discussions, I would be in a better position to take decisions about what the UN can do to help, particularly regarding the possible dispatch of a mission to Iraq to advise on elections."    - Reuters Visit the related web page
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