A delegation of experts from the United Nations kicked off on Tuesday talks with Iraqi officials over their monitoring of parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for October.
Head of the Independent High Electoral Commission Jalil Khalaf Adnan received the experts, expressing his gratitude to the UN for its support of the commission.
The experts will provide technical and management support to organizers. They include experts in procedures and training, media, voter outreach, electoral administration, legal affairs, information technology, among others.
Adnan stressed that the commission was keen on holding the elections, underlining the importance of international monitors due to their “significant role in ensuring the transparency and fairness of the polls.”
Meanwhile, President Barham Salih announced that he has updated his biometric card ahead of polls, encouraging voters to follow suit.
Updating the card is necessary to hold transparent elections, he stressed in a tweet, saying it “guarantees the freedom of choice away from fraud.”
Head of the Hikma alliance, Ammar al-Hakim, expressed his support for international monitoring of the elections on condition that it refrains from meddling in electoral affairs.
Only the commission is entitled to interfere in the elections, he stated, while urging the need to hold the polls on time.
Former head of the Baghdad electoral district, Adil al-Lami told Asharq Al-Awsat that people needed to distinguish between the supervising and monitoring of the polls and technical assistance.
Overseeing entails direct involvement in proceedings, he explained, while monitoring observes whether the process is in line with international democratic practices.
In 2005, he continued, the UN was involved for strictly technical assistance.
Some political parties are now objecting to the overseeing of the elections, not their monitoring, because they fear that their voter fraud will be exposed, he added.
Lami said that the UN has yet to clearly announce whether it will be involved in a monitoring or supervisory capacity.
