Sacred process of Iraqi elections

The interim &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/12/23/41184.html ' target=_blank>Iraqi government has the right to independently make decisions on Iraq's future, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiar al-Zibari told Xinhua in an exclusive interview Monday.

"The government would not make any decision under any foreign country's order," Zibari said on the sidelines of a foreignministers' meeting of Iraq's neighboring countries.

He said that the interim government would be in charge of the general elections, and all the Iraqi factions have been committed to enacting a permanent constitution and forming an elected government as soon as possible.

Iraq's highest election committee has the right to reject resolutions, including barring overseas Iraqis from participating in the elections, he said, as Xinhua News reported.

According to the Al-Jazeera News, Sharm El Sheikh conference brought together twenty nations, including the United States, Iraqi neighbors and several other &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2001/09/24/15982.html ' target=_blank>Arab countries, as well as China and regional bodies such as the Group of Eight, United Nations, European Union, Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said that the conference is to decide whether the vote could be held on time, adding that "the question needs to be re-examined".

"The debates that will take place ... are very important because they will look at the question of the elections and decide on whether they can take place on the date envisaged or whether it needs more reflection."

On the other hand, Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani Mulki, asked if the election date was not over-optimistic given the ongoing violence in Iraq said: "Dates are not sacred. What is sacred is the process."