The chief of Iraq's electoral commission Saturday ruled out delaying the Jan 30 elections, Dubai-based al-Arabiyah reported.
Abdel Hussein al-Hindawi made the remarks after the commission met to examine a request by leading political parties to postpone the elections for security reasons, reports Xinhua.
"Delaying the elections is out of the question," al-Hindawi was quoted as saying.
More than 15 leading Iraqi parties signed a petition Friday, demanding the Jan 30 elections be delayed by at least six months, the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV reported.
A representative from Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord party was among those petitioners.
"Insecurity and terrorist acts as well as insufficient preparations at the administrative, technical and political levels necessitate the date be reconsidered," the parties said in the petition.
--Indo-Asian News Service