BAGHDAD, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Saturday said that one of his government's first priorities is to hold fair parliamentary elections.
Al-Kadhimi's media office said in a statement that the prime minister chaired the first regular session of his cabinet to discuss several issues, including ensuring safe conditions for early elections, as well as supporting the work of the country's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).
One of the meeting's decisions included requesting the Council of Representatives (the parliament) to complete the voting on the new elections draft in order to send it to the presidency for approval, the statement said.
The cabinet also decided to provide logistical support to the IHEC to enable it to conduct elections after setting a date, the statement added.
Late last year, the Iraqi parliament passed most of the elections draft, but differences remained on a few articles due to the political row among political blocs.
The first cabinet meeting came after al-Kadhimi was sworn in on May 6 as the new prime minister in Iraq, following the approval by the parliament of most of his cabinet members. Enditem
