Problems hinder provincial elections monitoring

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Ain Network for Monitoring Elections has expressed its concerns over “problems” that it said may hinder the monitoring of the upcoming provincial elections. “While Iraqis are looking forward to free and fair provincial council elections, many problems have recently arisen…Ain Network for Monitoring Elections voices its concerns that the ability of independent civil society organizations to monitor elections could be curtailed,” according to a statement released by the network and received by IraqiNews.com. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the problems. Ain is an independent network specialized in monitoring elections, with over 23,000 observers working countrywide. SS (P) 1