Barham Saleh said delaying the scheduled Jan. 30 vote would have ''serious ramifications to the political process'' and would bolster the cause of terrorists.

''Under the law it cannot be postponed and the government is working on the premise that the elections will be held on time,'' Saleh told the British Broadcasting Corp.

Iraq's insurgency is hampering reconstruction and threatens the national elections. U.S. officials and their British allies see the elections as a key step toward returning power to Iraqis, a prerequisite for withdrawing occupation forces.

Sunni Muslim politicians have called for postponing the election, although the country's powerful Shiite clergy and the interim government oppose a delay.

The spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Saturday that the government was sticking by the Jan. 30 date after receiving assurances from the Iraqi Electoral Commission that an election could take place even in Sunni areas wracked by the insurgency.

Saleh acknowledged there were security problems in certain areas but said the assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah would deny the terrorists ''a major safe haven.''

''Sticking to that timetable will be difficult,'' he said. ''But delaying elections will be much more difficult because it will have serious ramifications to the political process, to the issue of legitimacy, and surely all of us do not want to give the terrorists the slightest of technical wins in that situation.''