it's part of a political process, which we hope will be as inclusive as possible and pull in all Iraqis." He said Baghdad appeared determined to hold elections when scheduled and the United Nations will provide resources and assistance to make it successful. Annan's political affairs adviser, Undersecretary General Kieran Prendergast, said voter registration was well under way and he hoped that Iraqi groups like the Kurds and Shiites would take part in the elections. "The secretary general has confirmed his determination, within the well-known constraints we are operating, that we have available on the ground in Baghdad the resources necessary in order to be able to support the role that we are playing with the (Iraqi) electoral commission," Prendergast said. "The whole thrust is to make it as inclusive as possible," he said, referring to efforts to involve all Iraqi ethnic, social and religious groups in the elections. Prendergast appeared at a news conference with Carina Perelli, the chief of the U.N. electoral assistance division. But they limited comments to the technical aspects of the elections. Prendergast said more U.N. election workers would go to Iraq when circumstances permit. --More 0100 Local Time 2200 GMT
