US, UN welcome international review of Iraqi elections
Iraq-USA, Politics, 12/31/2005

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan have welcomed a mission by international experts to review the conduct of Iraq's legislative elections December 15 and rule on their fairness.

"I welcome the invitation of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) to international monitors and experts to observe and review the December 15 elections, including the complaints and settlement process," Rice said in a statement Thursday, the Department Of State indicated yesterday.

The international review will be conducted by two representatives from the Arab League, one representative from the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and a European academic under the auspices of the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE).

"It is critical that those Iraqi groups who have complained about the conduct of the election are given a hearing. This team of assessors, which was not involved in the conduct of the elections, offers an independent evaluation of these complaints," Annan said in a statement Thursday.

The announcement of the IMIE review came after Sunni and secular Shiite groups refused to open talks on forming a coalition government with the Shiite religious bloc until there has been a full review of the contested results.

Previous Stories:
  US on troop reduction in 2006, Iraq army recruits mostly Shiite   (12/31/2005)
  US opposes reconsidering Iraqi elections   (12/30/2005)
  Khalilzad on Iraqi development; Pressure on Syria and Iran continues   (12/24/2005)
  Pentagon still investigation its interference in Iraq press   (12/23/2005)

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