PRESS BRIEFING BY IRAQ SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

Just weeks ahead of national elections in Iraq, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today said that even amid abiding concerns over the security situation and political inclusiveness, he had every reason to believe that the Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq (IECI) would be able to hold a credible, transparent and fair ballot on 30 January.

During a press briefing at Headquarters this afternoon, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said it was clear that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis were keen to participate in the “crucial” national elections, which would launch the next phase of Iraq’s political transformation -- subsequent agreement on a draft constitution by mid-August 2005, which would be out to the Iraqi people in a referendum next October, hopefully to be followed by elections under the new constitution at the end of next year.

In New York to brief the Security Council on the latest developments in Iraq, Mr. Qazi said that although the “logistics were in place” to bring the ballot in successfully, there were concerns that some of the major constituents of the Iraqi polity might turn out in lower numbers, which could impact adversely on the perception of the election.

“Therefore, as the [Special Representative], my efforts are focused on assisting and supporting the Interim Government in its political outreach”, Mr. Qazi said, adding that the new Government had already undertaken efforts to that end, and that his Office stood ready to provide further assistance in the weeks ahead so that the electoral process was as inclusive as possible and took place within a secure an environment as possible.

Turning to security, he said that situation differed “from place to place” throughout the country –- with some areas expected to have quite a heavy voter turn out, while there were others where the security, as well as political situations, were still matters of concern.  Those areas and situations needed to be addressed in order to ensure that the process was as inclusive as possible.

When asked about whether he had held talks with Arab nationalist or other groups about their level of participation in the electoral process, he emphasized that the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was to promote dialogue, compromise and national reconciliation and to facilitate the political process.  From that, the UNAMI had been in contact with the Iraqi political spectrum, including parties thus far outside the mainstream political progress.  He had also met with representatives of both Shia and Sunni political groups and parties and had been to Kurdistan to meet with the leadership there, as well.

As far as Arab nationalists, he said he and his team had met with delegations from Faluja, as well as the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) and the National Founding Conference of Iraq, which was an umbrella group for many such organizations.  He noted that most of the groups had their lists of demands, but he hoped that in the weeks leading up to the elections, the UNAMI’s efforts would bear fruit and that those parties that had been outside the process thus far would see their best options in participating in the elections.

Mr. Qazi said that there was a high level of mistrust between some of the parties, not to mention the ongoing political transformation and the traumatic developments that had taken place in Iraq.  So it was not so surprising that some of the parties were very wary and suspicious or quick to reach negative assessment of some of their opponents.  “So it is our duty to encourage and assist the Government and to also, through our own efforts, to try and bring about situations where these parties can actually meet, and to ensure that all parties willing to eschew violence give up the gun -– no matter how radical their opinions may appear to be in the eyes of their adversaries – and were able to bring their ideas to the table and talk about them within the context of what’s good for Iraq.”

He added that the UNAMI tried to ensure that all those who felt that their voices were not being heard saw the benefits of pursing their agendas within a defined political process, instead of outside it or through the use of violence or other extreme measures.  Since that effort was well underway, he said it was realistic not only to expect elections that were on time, but a ballot that was inclusive, and which resonated credibly with the Iraqi people.

One correspondent said that, in the Security Council, Mr. Qazi had painted a dark picture about the security situation in Iraq.  Were elections even possible under such conditions?  Mr. Qazi responded that the levels of violence varied throughout the country, with higher concentration in certain areas, like central and western Iraq and in the Mosul region.  He added that political outreach had not yet spread to some of those areas.  So, a more focused outreach, as well as a building up of Iraqi security forces, would improve inclusiveness and make the chance for free, fair and safe elections more likely.

Asked to respond to charges that the United Nations was hiding behind the mantra of “as circumstances permit” to avoid beefing up security in some areas, and that the preferred mode of interaction with Iraqi officials was too often by way of video conference or phone calls from outside the country, Mr. Qazi said:  “We would all like to be present in more numbers in Iraq”.  But that phrase was not a mantra – it reflected a valid snapshot of the security environment.  Still, despite the challenges, the UNAMI had done much, particularly with respect to the electoral process, which was its immediate political priority.

He added that opening up offices in Iraq beyond Baghdad “was something that was under consideration.” If the security situation permitted, the United Nations would be having a presence in Erbil and Basra, hopefully “soon enough”.  But, at all times, one should remember that if anything were to happen, the feasibility of a United Nations mission would be called into question and, if it were forced to leave Iraq, it would be unable to provide any assistance on the ground at all.  “So it’s not a cop-out when we talk about ‘circumstances permitting’”, he said.  “It’s something we have to keep in mind in order to be of assistance to the Iraqi people.”

Asked why he as so confident that the elections would be successful, Mr. Qazi said that all the polls suggested that there was widespread enthusiasm in Iraq for the holding of elections.  That was true throughout all the main political constituencies, be they Sunni, Kurd or Shia.  The security situation varied from place to place, and in most areas security was not anticipated to be a major impediment to turnout.  And although any area was vulnerable, adequate security should be enough to ensure that voters came out.  He was aware of the challenges and was confident that they could be overcome.  He also assured correspondents that enough electoral officials would be in place to certify the ballot by election day.

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