Top UN official in Iraq: '800 foreign observers will observe Iraqi elections'

“This election is important and it is the beginning of a long road for the Iraqis”
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Special Representative for Iraq, is pictured while speaking to journalists in Baghdad on Iraq's upcoming elections in October, Sept. 7, 2021. (Photo: Screengrab/Kurdistan24)
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Special Representative for Iraq, is pictured while speaking to journalists in Baghdad on Iraq's upcoming elections in October, Sept. 7, 2021. (Photo: Screengrab/Kurdistan24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, announced on Saturday that 800 foreign observers will take part in observing the Iraqi elections.

“This election is important and it is the beginning of a long road for the Iraqis,” Hennis-Plasschaert stated, during a press conference held in Basra. 

“The goal of her [Hennis-Plasschaert] visit will be to hear voters’ views on the upcoming elections and explain how the United Nations is supporting the electoral process,” read a statement on the United Nations – Iraq website released the day before her trip.

Hennis-Plasschaert’s visit to the southern Iraqi provinces of Basra and Nasiriyah was to meet with a wide range of local government officials and members of civil society organizations to discuss the October election process.

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In a previous press conference, held in September in Baghdad, Hennis-Plasschaert revealed that 130 international experts will observe the electoral process before and on election day. 

"The UN is deploying a much bigger team to support the elections," Hennis-Plasschaert said on September 8.

"In effect, this is one of the UN's largest electro-technical assistances worldwide with five times as many UN personnel as in 2018."