A UN electoral team arrived in Baghdad on Friday to study options for an interim Iraqi government when the US occupation ends this summer and advise on legalities in organising elections, the United Nations said.
The team is led by Carina Perelli, a Uruguayan political scientist who is director of the UN electoral assistance division, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
A second group of UN officials, headed by Lakhdar Brahimi, a senior adviser to secretary-general Kofi Annan, is expected to arrive in Baghdad late next week, diplomats said.
Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, and Perelli went to Iraq last month to advise on the feasibility of holding elections and discuss proposals for an interim government to take power when the US-led occupation ends on June 30.