Baghdad, March 01: Iraq’s parliamentary election will mark the most “decisive” moment for the country since the 2003 US-led invasion which ousted leader Saddam Hussein, the UN envoy to Baghdad said on Monday.
Ad Melkert added that while he was concerned over the level of violence in the run-up to Sunday’s poll, he had not seen any widespread sectarian or communal confrontation.
“I think one could say that the conduct and outcome of the elections will be the most decisive moment for Iraq’s future since 2003,” he told reporters at a briefing.
It will be the second legislative poll in Iraq since the invasion, after a parliamentary election held in 2005.
Melkert said that while he was concerned over political violence, “what we don’t see at this moment is, say, overall community or sectarian confrontation.”
“However, I am concerned about attacks on Christian minority representatives with a number of victims and also people that might have moved temporarily for that reason.”
He added: “We are concerned about the security of candidates and election organisers.
“But what one does not see is a general pattern that might really affect also the assessment of whether the campaign as such is enabling the Iraqi people really to express their preference.”
—Agencies