The international immigration organization, which was asked for organizing Iraqis abroad to participate in the Jan. 30 elections, has said it is difficult for doing so, an official of Iraq's Higher Commission of Elections said on December 11.

The commission spokesperson Fareed Ayar said that "the report pointed out that the organization is facing some difficulties about signing the agreements with the countries to have voting centers, which would mean that there would not be elections in these countries."

He said that Canada, where the number of Iraqis is estimated at about 36,000, prefers that the voting would be done through the mail, which would contradict with the policy of the commission and the UN.

The organization also did not receive any authorization from Syria and negotiations are continuous, Ayar said, adding Syria, with some 500,000 Iraqis in it now, demanded that the future negotiation should be conducted through the Iraqi embassy.

Meanwhile, Germany said that the Iraqi elections could be conducted through E-mail because the authorities there consider the attending of voters to a certain place a dangerous gathering, especially after the assassination attempt on visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi on Dec. 3 in Berlin.

Ayar pointed out that the report showed that the number of Iraqis in Germany reaches about 85,000.

Source: Xinhua