AMMAN, Dec 30 (AFP) - Vote counting for the Iraq out-of-country voting programme will be done in individual countries rather than a centralised centre, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Thursday.
"Having ballots counted immediately after they are cast will allow the out-of-country programme to quickly provide results," said Peter Erben, who is in charge of the programme.
He said in a statement released in Jordan that completion of the overseas ballots is expected to take five days and that results would then be forwarded to the Iraqi electoral comission.
The IOM, which is organising expatriate voting on behalf of the Iraqi electoral commission, estimates that up to one million Iraqis living in 14 countries may be eligible to cast their votes.
Overseas voting will take place over three days January 28-30 in Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Jordan, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.
The IOM is still seeking a formal agreement from Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to hold expatriate voting in those countres and said earlier this week that talks were progressing.
Registration for the vote will occur from January 17 to 23 and the IOM said some 2.5 million ballots have been ordered for the process.
12/30/2004 13:36 GMT - AFP