Baghdad, (Samajweekly) French President Emmanuel Macron said that his government is ready to support the Iraqi parliamentary elections slated for October 10, according to an official statement issued in Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a phone call from Macron on Friday, in which the President confirmed France’s approval of the UN resolution to send a team to monitor the elections, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
They also discussed the ways to boost bilateral relations in various fields and agreed to continue the coordination in addressing the regional and international challenges, the statement said.
On May 27, the UN Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for a year and authorised special representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to provide a strengthened, robust and visible team to monitor the polls.
On January 19, the Baghdad government approved October 10 as the new date for the country’s early elections to give more time for the the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission to complete preparations.
In July, 2020, al-Kadhimi had set June 6, 2021 as the date for the early elections in response to the anti-government protests.
The last parliamentary elections in Iraq were held on May 12, 2018, and the next elections were originally scheduled for 2022.
