As an international team continues reviewing hundreds of complaints registered over Iraq’s parliamentary elections, the publication of voting results are now predicted to be more than two weeks out.
The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq has completed its investigation of almost 2,000 election complaints and will announce the findings Wednesday, commission member Hussein Hindawi told The Associated Press.
But the commission won’t announce final election results until an international team finishes its work, meaning they might not be ready for two weeks, said commission member Safwat Rashid. Officials previously said final results of the Dec. 15 vote would be announced in early January.
This is a far cry from the days when Saddam was elected with a 100% ‘Yes’ vote.
It’s easy to be upset about the delay, but the fact is, the results of this election must be legitimate. It’s important that officials take as long as necessary to be sure that any reported irregularities are investigated thoroughly. Future elections will be held to the same standard, so this process must be executed correctly.