The Annan Plan for Iraq

The London daily ash-Sharq al-Awsat says it has acquired an advance draft of comments UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will make on Monday regarding the future of Iraq and the procedure for elections. It says there are five points:

1) General elections must be held with a guarantee of constitutionality in Iraq. They should be held at the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005, i.e. between seven to eight months after the transfer of sovereignty July 1.

2) There must be unanimity among the active parties in Iraq that elections be held, to elect the members of an interim parliament after the transfer of sovereignty.

3) The US pledge to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi government on June 30 must be honored.

4) The instrumentality of the transfer of sovereignty will be decided jointly by the UN, the Coalition authority, and the Interim Governing Council.

5) The UN must be involved in the political process both before the transition process begins and after the formation of a transitional government.