Interim Prime Minister Eyad Allawi's spokesman said Saturday the government was determined to hold the Jan. 30 elections on time despite calls by Sunni politicians to delay the vote for six months because of poor security conditions.
17 prominent Sunni politicians called on the government Friday to postpone the elections.
However, the interim constitution and the U.N. Security Council have mandated a ballot by the end of January to satisfy demands by Shiite clerics, who have been insisting on elections since the early months of the U.S. occupation.
42 parties and politicians, mainly from the majority Shiite community and the Turkomen minority, voiced their opposition Saturday to any delay in the election, The AP reported.
"The Iraqi government is determined, as I told you before, to hold elections on time," said Allawi's spokesman, Thair al-Naqeeb. "The Iraqi government led by the prime minister is calling for all spectra of the Iraqi people to participate in the elections and to contribute in the elections to build a strong democratic country."
Al-Naqeeb said Allawi "considers seriously the responsibility given to him" by the interim constitution and the Security Council "to carry out elections at the end of January."
