Al Hakim Igc Will Invite Un Election

Juan Cole 01/10/2004

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al-Hakim: IGC will Invite UN Election Commission to Iraq

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim met Thursday with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, and afterwards announced that the Interim Governing Council will write to Kofi Annan asking that the UN send a commission to Iraq to deal with election issues. Sistani wants the commission to make a determination as to whether Iraq can mount open elections by May 31. It seems to me he knows that the Americans will not allow this, but is trying to involve the UN as a lever to make the elections more representative than Paul Bremer now envisages.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page