UN Expected to Delay Key Part of Plan on Iraq-The part about free elections

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040218/ts_nm/iraq_un_usa_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) is expected to delay a key part of a U.N. report on the shape of an Iraqi interim government when he recommends this week that elections not be held before the U.S.-led occupation ends on June 30, diplomats said on Wednesday.


Annan is scheduled to present a report on Thursday or Friday that will say, as expected, that direct elections are not possible by June 30 and probably suggest dates for an election later this year or early next year.


But a key section of the report -- what kind of a caretaker government will take over on June 30 -- will not be included and needs more time, the diplomats said.


Annan may make recommendations on an interim government when he returns from a trip to Japan on Feb. 25. Also visiting Japan at the same time because of a previous engagement will be his senior adviser Lakhdar Brahimi, who recently went to Baghdad to report on the electoral process to choose a caretaker government.

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