Carlos Valenzuela

Carlos Valenzuela is the leader of the UN team organizing the Iraqi national elections, which are slated to take place in January 2005. Prior to his assignment in Iraq, he lead the UN team which organized elections in East Timor.

In late September 2004, Valenzuela criticized a suggestion by the US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that it might not be possible to hold the elections in those parts of Iraq worst hit by violence. According to the BBC, Valenzuela responded that the electoral commission organising the poll "has found so far that it hasn't been helpful that different people have been speculating whether certain parts of the country will be able or not to participate in the election and whether the elections will be legitimate or not... and [this speculation] might create more danger of people feeling excluded from the process." 

SourceWatch resources

 * Iraqi national elections