Iraqis Can Now Check Voter Registration Lists Prepared With Help Of UN Experts
Iraqis will now be able to check if their names are properly registered on voter rolls prepared by the Independent
Electoral Commission for Iraq with help from United Nations electoral experts.
The six-week confirmation process, which began Monday, is a significant step towards the holding of elections planned
for January, a UN spokesman said today.
There are currently eight electoral experts among the 35 UN international staff in Iraq, with plans to increase the
number of electoral experts while staying within the security ceiling.
Meanwhile, the UN is "working diligently" to look into the entire security system for those 35 workers as well as
assessing whether additional staff can be adequately protected in Baghdad, said Catherine Bertini, the UN
Under-Secretary-General for Management, at a press briefing in New York.
Fiji has already agreed to provide protection for UN facilities and staff in Baghdad and will be deploying later this
month.
Ms. Bertini confirmed that the United States has also provided very detailed descriptions of what it is able to provide
for UN staff should the additional workers be sent to Iraq.
"We're still assessing that and then have to make a proposal to the Secretary-General and ultimately he has to decide
how to proceed," she said.