The Iraqi National Dialogue Conference called on the government and parliament to “ensure the integrity of the parliamentary elections” scheduled for Oct. 10, and to commit to ending the US presence in the country.
The conference was held in Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday, with the participation of representatives from all Iraqi governorates, to discuss several political, security, economic, cultural and social working papers, with the aim of developing a popular national vision that precedes the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, which will be held on Saturday.
A statement issued at the end of the conference stressed that elections were the primary means of democratic expression, urging the government and parliament to work to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
Participants also called on the relevant authorities to commit to the timeframes for ending the presence of US combat forces in Iraq.
Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi confirmed that the elections would take place on their scheduled date on Oct. 10.
“We have provided all the requirements for that,” he said, adding: “We are now heading towards early and fair elections, as we promised.”
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has completed its preparations to host the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, which will be held on Saturday in the presence of five neighboring countries and four regional and European neighborhood states.
The Minister of Culture, Spokesman for the Iraqi government, Hassan Nazim, said in a statement that the conference was a “summit of regional neighboring countries as well as other states,” explaining that Iraq wanted to restore its effective and influential regional role.
“There is vigorous work in building bridges that will continue with the aim of restoring Iraq’s role in a manner that secures its stability and economic prosperity,” he remarked.
