UN electoral division chief Carina Perelli had mis-spoken and did not mean to criticize the US military as being "over-enthusiastic" in trying to help with Iraq's elections, the United Nations said in a statement issued on late Wednesday.
Perelli made the remarks Wednesday, saying "the US military has been I would say over-enthusiastic in trying to help with this election and we have been basically saying that they should minimize their participation because this is an Iraqi process, this is not a UN process."
She said the electoral advisers worried Iraqis would see the election as a US-orchestrated process and not show up to vote.
"She was trying to make a point about the great sensitivity among many Iraqis about the US presence as the election approaches, but not to deny the obvious fact that the US military, along with the Iraqi security forces, are playing a crucial role in providing security for Iraqi citizens who will be voting," the statement said.
"Ms. Perelli's role was to brief the press on the technical preparations for the election, and she did not intend to criticize the US military's profile."
The United States insists it is not heavily involved in the election process, but US military units on the ground in Iraq have frequently gone out to try to tell people what's at stake, who is running in the vote, and gauge how much regular Iraqis know about the process.