U.S. not planning to secure parliament elections in Iraq, says ambassador

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – The U.S. is not planning to take part in securing the Iraqi parliamentary elections, slated for May, American ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman said on Tuesday, expressing confidence that Iraqi troops can carry out this mission as best as possible.

Silliman was quoted by Baghdad Today as saying that his country will not support any party in the coming elections, voicing hope that the voting would come up with a moderate non-sectarian government that serves all the Iraqi people.

The International Coalition has informed the U.S. administration that Iraqi troops have a good plan for securing May elections, the U.S. diplomat said, adding that for that reason, the U.S. will not take part in securing the polls.

The Iraqi parliamentary elections, slated for May 12, will decide the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi president and prime minister.

The elections were originally scheduled for September 2017, but were delayed due to the country’s fight against Islamic State, which ended in December 2017 with the recapture of their remaining territories.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December with the help of a US-led alliance, having retaken all the territory captured by the extremists in 2014 and 2015