By Robert F. Worth
New York Times
10 December 2004
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 9 - A leading Shiite political figure showed signs of unease on Thursday about the risks that the continuing violence here poses for the elections. It was the first signal that members of Iraq's powerful Shiite political alliance might be willing to ease their insistence on holding them on Jan. 30.
The official, Hussein al-Shahristani, did not say Shiite leaders would be open to delaying the election, but he spoke about the extraordinary dangers voters faced in many Sunnidominated areas, in warnings that sounded much like those issued by Sunni leaders calling for a postponement. He added that Shiite leaders did not want to see an election that might be viewed as illegitimate.
"We are insistent that the right conditions should be created, especially in Sunni areas, because an election without their full participation is not in the interests of the Iraqi people," Dr. Shahristani said.
Iraq's senior Shiite religious figure, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has been adamant about holding elections on time. He has also worked hard for months to unify Shiites, appointing Dr. Shahristani and five others to build an alliance that could win a dominant share of votes.
Now that the alliance is secure, Dr. Shahristani appears to be giving voice to a new concern that Shiite political victories might be endangered by a perception of Sunni disenfranchisement. One idea still under discussion, he said, is to stretch the election out over several weeks, a proposal first made by the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi.
In a sign of Iraq's political flux, the prime minister's office released a statement on Thursday that appeared to disown Dr. Allawi's proposal, made in Europe last week.
Dr. Shahristani made his comments at a news conference held to formally announce the new coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance. Shiites represent 60 percent of Iraq's population, and the Alliance may be poised to win a dominant share of votes for the National Assembly, which will elect a prime minister and cabinet from within its ranks.
The Alliance's ranked list of its top candidates, therefore, could well represent the outlines of the next government. The first name on the list is Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, according to a copy provided by a senior Alliance member.
Mr. Hakim lived in Iran for years before the fall of Saddam Hussein, and his prominence on the slate may invite charges - like those made recently by King Abdullah II of Jordan and the interim Iraqi president, Ghazi al-Yawar - that Iran is trying to influence the election.
No. 7 is Dr. Shahristani, and No. 10 is Ahmad Chalabi, the former exile once championed by the Bush administration. Candidates proposed by Moktada al-Sadr, the renegade cleric who ignited two uprisings against the American occupation here, are in the top 25.
The Alliance has a 23-point platform, Dr. Shahristani said, but he disclosed only one point: a plan to negotiate a date for the withdrawal of American troops. The main elements of the platform, he said, are sovereignty, unity and respect for the Islamic identity of Iraq.
In the continuing violence, seven Iraqis were killed in two incidents, one in Baghdad and the other in the western city of Ramadi, The Associated Press reported. Also in Baghdad, an American soldier was wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near his patrol, military officials said.
Dr. Shahristani made his comments as Adnan Pachachi, one of Iraq's best-known political figures, renewed his own warning about the risks of a January election, saying voter turnout would be no more than 5 percent in areas where the insurgency was at its worst, including Mosul, parts of Baghdad and the Sunni-dominated areas north and west of the capital.
"The security situation is hopeless, and we need a period when we can have a dialogue," said Mr. Pachachi, who led a number of political groups, mostly Sunni, in calling last month for a postponement.
The Iraqi National Alliance brings together a diverse group of 228 candidates, mostly Shiite but with some Sunnis Arabs and some Kurds as well. One of the seven figures who appeared at the news conference on Wednesday to announce its formation was Fawaz al-Jarba, 44, a former Iraqi Army major and a Sunni from Mosul who leads the Shamar tribe, one of the largest in Iraq.
Dr. Shahristani, 62, a scientist who was imprisoned by President Hussein for refusing to help build a nuclear bomb, is emerging as one of the Alliance's leaders. In May he was a leading candidate to become interim prime minister. But Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy who selected him, ran into opposition from Shiite political leaders, who wanted the job for themselves. Mr. Brahimi backed down and chose Dr. Allawi, who was favored by the Americans.
That kind of feuding may still cause divisions within the Shiite alliance. For instance, Mr. Sadr has had bitter disagreements with some other members of the Alliance, including Mr. Hakim.
Dr. Shahristani and other members also responded angrily to warnings about Iranian efforts to influence the election. Several figures in the Alliance have close ties to Iran, and the issue has been a controversial one inside and outside Shiite circles.
"It's very insulting to the majority of Iraqis," Dr. Shahristani said of the possibility that Iran was subsidizing and training Iraqi political parties. "This is unwelcome interference in Iraqi affairs."
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Citation: Robert F. Worth, "Shiites Signal Concern Over Sunni Turnout Amid Violence," New York Times, 10 December 2004
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/international/middleeast/10iraq.html?pagewanted=print&position
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