No Iraq Election Until End of 2004 at Earliest, Annan Says
By WARREN HOGE
Published: February 23, 2004
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 23 — Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that credible elections could not be held in Iraq before the end of this year or the early part of 2005, and then only if planning a framework for them began immediately.
In a report to the Security Council, Mr. Annan said that his special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and a team of United Nations elections experts had determined during an emergency one-week trip to Iraq that it would take until May to set up that framework and then eight months from that point to hold elections.
His report said that the first task was establishing an independent election commission to come up with the technical and legal rules and structure for a national vote. The current American plan had envisioned full elections by the end of 2005.
"If the work was started immediately and the required political consensus was reached fairly rapidly, it would be possible to hold elections by the end of 2004," Mr. Annan said. "At least eight months are required to prepare a credible election in Iraq, once the legal framework is agreed upon."