Iraq: UN Envoy Commends Inclusive Elections

Iraq: UN Envoy Commends Countrywide Participation In Inclusive Elections

The senior United Nations envoy in Iraq today commended the people of the war-torn country Iraq for their active nationwide participation in yesterday’s elections and congratulated the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) for the conduct of the poll.

“Anecdotal evidence shows that there has been a good turnout, that it was inclusive and that security was well maintained,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Ashraf Qazi said, noting that the IECI maintained the high international standards deemed essential for the conduct of fair, free and transparent election.

“These are all good measures of success,” he added in a statement.

Mr. Qazi acknowledged that a number of complaints have been registered with the IECI and that investigations have started in a number of incidents. He said that while preliminary results may be available in the next few days, the final results would not be issued until the IECI had completed its investigations.

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