Foreign Minister, from New York : “We are looking forward to seeing an international team to monitor the elections in all Iraqi governorates.”

On July 30, 2021, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the head of the electoral support team in the Department of Political and Peace Building Affairs in the United Nations Secretariat, Mr. Craig Jenness, and his accompanying security team.

The two sides discussed the necessary preparations for holding the elections on time , where the  Minister confirmed that the government is proceeding with the elections, which are one of the most important goals in the government agenda, expressing his happiness that Iraq has been unanimously supported by the Security Council.

He explained that the Iraqi government is looking forward to seeing an international monitoring team in all the Iraqi governorates to enhance public confidence in the electoral process. 

He declared that the Iraqi government is making great efforts to secure elections and provide a safe environment for fair elections that meet the international standards, reaffirming that the security situation in Iraq is much better than it was several years ago in light of the great efforts made by the security services to combat terrorism.

For his part, the head of the electoral support team said that the electoral support team succeeded in securing the necessary funding for the United Nations electoral observation team to exercise its work in Iraq from grants provided by some countries, including the United States of America, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

Mr. Janis also indicated that the United Nations will employ 150 UN experts for the electoral support who will work as a preparatory team for the monitoring process, and they will be distributed to four main centers in Iraq. Another 100 UN experts will be sent in mid-September to monitor the elections. He stressed that the strategic communication team will arrive in Baghdad soon.