US pledges $5.2 mln to support Iraq's election monitoring

The US will grant $5.2 million for the election monitoring team of the United Nations Mission in Iraq, the US delegation to the UN said during a session of the Security Council on Wednesday.

After UN statements stressing the importance of the Iraqi elections, US delegate to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield confirmed that her country welcomes the efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) to support the elections with additional observers.

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In parallel, the delegate stressed the need for “judicial accountability for the killings carried out by militias against civil society activists.”

She also said that the US, along with its coalition partners and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission in Iraq, will continue to train, advise and empower Iraqi security forces in the war on terrorism, and build their capabilities to confront future threats.

The mission also called for the perpetrators to be held accountable, affirming support for free and fair elections in Iraq, and said that Washington was preparing for a new phase of the campaign to defeat ISIS, led by Iraq and its people.

UN mission stresses importance of elections

The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, stressed the importance of the elections scheduled for the tenth of October, for the future of the country.

In her speech during a session of the Security Council, she said that the credibility of the upcoming elections will be essential for the future of Iraq.

She also considered that the responsibility for the success of those upcoming elections lies with the concerned Iraqi parties and the official authorities.

She added that boycotting this “fundamental entitlement” is not an effective strategy and will not provide any solutions.

Al-Kazemi is committed to holding the elections

The Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi reiterated his adherence to holding the elections on time, rejecting any possibility of postponing them.

He stressed during a press conference shortly after the end of the government session that the Council of Ministers did not give up on conducting this entitlement on time.

These elections come at a time when Iraq is suffering from a socio-economic crisis, high unemployment among the youth, as well as the lack of some basic services in several governorates, and the pervasiveness of corruption and quotas by parties.

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