Today's Date:

Elections in Iraq

Comments by the French authorities

Paris, January 31, 2005

“These elections are an important step in the political reconstruction of Iraq. The strategy of the terrorist groups has in part failed. The participation rate and good technical organization of the elections were satisfactory,” President Chirac stated today in a phone conversation with President Bush.

The president “stressed that in the future, it would be important to include all groups that renounced armed struggle, notably in drawing up the Constitution,” said his spokesperson. He also “confirmed France’s readiness to cooperate with Iraq, particularly in the training of security forces and high officials.”

During his conversation with President Bush, Mr. Chirac said he was looking forward to dining with him in Brussels on February 21 and to meeting the new Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, next week in Paris.

Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told Radio Europe 1 that the elections are “a victory for the Iraqi people and an important first step that was essential for democracy and for the political process we are hoping for and toward which we—I mean the international community—have been working for months.

The only way to emerge from this tragedy is through democracy and elections.

There are other steps […] The first step had to be successful and it was successful. Once again, that’s due to the merit and courage of the Iraqi people. Other steps must be taken soon, or right away—the redaction of a constitution that must provide fair representation for all communities in Iraq; the approval of that constitution; other elections in 2005; and of course, when the time comes, as provided in that famous resolution 1546, the withdrawal of foreign troops so that the Iraqi people can regain its sovereignty.