Iraqi elections a litmus test, U.N. says

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- The March 7 elections in Iraq will be a litmus test for the success of the democratic experiment in the country, the U.N. special envoy to Iraq said.

Envoy Ad Melkert briefed members of the U.N. Security Council on election preparations for March parliamentary elections.

Melkert brushed off concerns that an election commission barred hundreds of candidates from the ballot because of alleged ties to the outlawed Baath Party.

"What eventually will matter most is the acceptance by the Iraqi people of the election result," he said.

He said that while the political situation in Iraq was complex, it was important to recognize the achievements in Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"The crux is now to see whether there is a genuine effort under way to reconstruct and innovate," said Melkert.

The special envoy stressed that while the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq was not monitoring the election, his team would be present at polling stations as a confidence-building measure.

The infrastructure is in place, Melkert said, for nearly 19 million Iraqis to take part in the vote at some 48,000 polling stations March 7.