Shafaq News / The High Electoral Commission in Iraq said on Wednesday that the failure to approve the election law and the delay in allocating the necessary funds are the major issues that hampers the commission's work.

In a statement, the commission said that it received the Deputy Ambassador of the European Union in Iraq, Jean Bernard Dolvan, and the first advisor at the embassy, Angela Martini. "The meeting reviewed the role of the European Union in the elections and the assistance mechanisms to provide by EU in light of the challenges facing the commission".

The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners affirmed, according to the statement, "the new commission intend to restore voters' confidence in the electoral process by establishing adequate procedures, the most important of which is adopting the biometric IDs in order to carry out fair elections".

"The failure to approve the elections law, the failure to determine the electoral districts by the parliament, in addition to the delay in financial allocations by the government, the limited support by the United Nations Mission (UNAMI) and the lack of sufficient numbers of experts due to Corona pandemic are the most important challenges facing the work of Commission", he continued.

"Nevertheless, the commission has taken vigorous steps to conduct its work that does not require legislation, including the preparation of the administrative apparatus, which was restructured following the change of the Commission's law in addition to preparing its internal system", he added.

For his part, Dolvan explained, "His visit comes within the framework of exploring the course of work inside the corridors of the Commission in light of the existing challenges and determining the technical and administrative capabilities of its workers to strengthen the oversight role of the European Union".

Dolvan praised, "the efforts of the Board of Commissioners despite the fundamental problems caused by the incomplete electoral law,", and promised that the Union, "will do everything in its power to support the commission through the United Nations mission".