WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Xinhuanet) -- About 240,000 Iraqis living in the United States will be eligible to vote in the Iraqi elections scheduled for Jan. 30, the New York Times newspaper reported Thursday.

    Voting stations are to be set up in five American cities -- Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit and Nashville -- but final arrangements for the voting have yet to be confirmed, the newspaper quoted US government officials as saying.

    Michael Kozak, acting assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said the interim Iraqi government decided last November to allow its citizens abroad to vote and set qualification conditions for eligible voters.

    The International Organization for Migration, an independent body working closely with the United Nations, says about one million Iraqis over the age of 18 living in 14 countries outside Iraq will be eligible to vote.

    Of the 14 countries, Iran and the United States have the largest Iraqi expatriate populations.

    Although an estimated 14 million people within Iraq are eligible to vote, it remains unclear how many of them will be able¡¡to participate in the election.

    US President George W. Bush and his government continue to stress that there should be no delay for the planned Iraqi elections despite calls for a postponement by some Iraqi leaders from Sunni areas where voting is likely be hampered by security problems. Enditem