UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that elections in Iraq could not take place until late this year or early next year, providing Iraqis enacted an election law, among other steps.
In a report to the UN Security Council, Mr Annan said elections could be held by the end of 2004 if preparations for a "legal and institutional framework" began immediately. But he said it was more likely that preparations would need eight months and would not be completed until May.
Mr Annan's report was issued after the visit to Iraq earlier this month of an electoral team headed by his senior adviser Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister.
He did not make a recommendation for how Iraq would select a provisional government once the US-led occupation ended on June 30th. But he listed a series of options Mr Brahimi gleaned in his talks in Iraq.