Iraq has decided to delay indefinitely its first census in two decades because of political rifts over disputed areas in the country's north, Iraqi Planning Minister Ali Baban said on Sunday. According to AFP, the census was due to have been held on October 24.
"The planning ministry is ready to do the census technically," Baban told reporters. "But because of some reservations from some political parties in Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces, we have decided to delay it to another time," he added.
According to Iraq's Planning ministry spokesman Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi, the census could potentially be held in April or October 2010.
The census was set to be the first conducted nationwide since 1987.
