Iraqi leadership expected in weeks as first ballot held

THE United States yesterday said Iraq should have an interim national leadership in place

Tue, 06 May, 2003 - 01:00

mid-May, as Iraq’s third-largest city held the country’s first vote since Saddam Hussein’s ouster.

“By the middle of the month, you’ll really see a beginning of a nucleus of an Iraqi government with an Iraqi face on it that is dealing with the coalition,” said Jay Garner, retired US general in charge of postwar reconstruction in Iraq.

Speaking to reporters in Baghdad, Mr Garner said he expected up to nine Iraqis to form an interim leadership group that would be a point of contact for the Americans.