Iraq Elections May Be Over 15 Months Away

[La_Serpiente]

Iraq Elections May Be Over 15 Months Away

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said it could take more than 15 months to make the necessary preparations for elections in Iraq (news - web sites), Dubai-based Al Arabiya television station reported Saturday.

Bremer's reported comments in an interview with the station were likely to concern many Iraqis, especially the country's Shiite majority, which has been calling for direct elections before the self-imposed U.S. deadline of June 30 to hand over power to an Iraqi government.

In remarks translated into Arabic, Bremer was quoted as saying that the absence of laws governing political parties and a lack of voter lists were the main obstacles in holding the elections.

Bremer said he assumed it could take "a year or 15 months and may take longer" to make the arrangements needed to hold polls, according to the station.

The report did not say when the interview took place and coalition officials in Baghdad were not immediately available to confirm the remarks.

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Iraq Elections May Be Over 15 Months Away