Washington Congratulates Iraq For its "Technically Sound" Election
The US expressed its eagerness to work with the new government once it is formed in order to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between the two countries.
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Department of State: The Iraqi election was an opportunity for Iraqi voters to determine their future.
The US Department of State welcomed the statement issued by the United Nations Security Council regarding the Iraqi October 10 election.
In its statement, the Department of State congratulated "the people and the Government of Iraq for a secure, technically sound, and largely peaceful election process", describing it as an opportunity for the voters to shape their future through a government that reflects their will.
Furthermore, Washington noted that it joins the international community in condemning the violence threats against the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Independant High Electoral Commission (IHEC), urging all parties to respect the rule of law as well as the integrity of the electoral process.
The Department of State concluded by expressing the eagerness of the US to work with the new government once it is formed in order to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between the two countries, which rests on shared interests including Iraq's stability and sovereignty, economic empowerment, anti-corruption endeavors, energy independence, climate and the protection of human rights.
The UN Security Council members have previously welcomed "interim reports that the elections proceeded smoothly and featured significant technical and procedural improvements from previous Iraqi elections."
The Security Council also commended Iraq's IHEC for the "technically sound elections," and also "the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for providing the IHEC the technical assistance and international monitoring team the Government of Iraq requested to strengthen the electoral process and promote transparency."
In parallel, the IHEC previously announced that out of 340 submitted appeals, the board recommended that 322 appeals be rejected for various reasons, with the remaining 18 appeals prompting it to decide to manually recount the results of 234 polling stations.
