BAGHDAD, Iraq — An election law and an independent election commission must be established by the end of the month so Iraq can hold elections in January 2005 as scheduled, the U.N. elections chief said Thursday.

Ahead of May 31, Carina Perelli said, a number of town hall meetings will be held so Iraqis can express their opinions on what electoral system would best fit them and who should be in the electoral commission.

The United Nations is helping to devise an electoral law in the country. Iraqis will have to decide on a presidential or parliamentary system of government.

"It is not U.N.'s elections, it is not my elections, it has to really crystalize how the people of Iraq feel about who has the legitimate right to represent them," Perelli said at a news conference.

If the agreement is reached on the election law by the end of May, that would leave the minimum eight months that the United Nations needs to organize national and provincial elections by Jan. 31, 2005.

Perelli also said "ballots and mortar shelling do not match."

"The assessment of the security environment is paramount," she said, adding that it is "too early" to say what the conditions will be like in January.

The coalition has already set aside an estimated $250 million-$260 million for the elections, though this figure will be refined once an electoral law is in place, Perelli said earlier.

The United Nations has started accepting nominations from individuals and groups for an eight-member Independent Electoral Commission, which will oversee balloting. The nomination period ends May 15.

The U.S.-led coalition is expected to hand sovereignty to a caretaker Iraqi government on June 30. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is trying to help put together the interim government, and has proposed that it be led by a prime minister with a president and two vice presidents, who would oversee the January elections. The elected national assembly will then adopt a constitution.