Sistani Opposes Delay in Iraq Elections

Good for him:

Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric is opposing any delay in elections scheduled for Jan. 30, as demanded by other political factions, Iraqi Shiite leaders said Saturday.

The top American civilian official in Iraq, John D. Negroponte, lent his forceful support, saying elections will be held in January, adding, "we want to do everything possible to create the conditions so that everyone who is eligible to vote in this country will be able to do so."

The office of the Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made its position clear in telephone conversations on Friday with Sunni Muslim leaders who are agitating for a six-month postponement of the elections, one of the Shiite leaders said.

Over the last week, a movement largely spearheaded by Sunnis to delay the elections has gathered huge momentum. On Friday, 17 political groups, most dominated by Sunnis but also including two Kurdish groups, endorsed a statement calling on the Iraqi Electoral Commission to put off the Jan. 30 voting because of the violence that afflicts much of the country.

I wonder how much of this agitation for a delay is actually due to fears about security, and how much is due to some parties' thinking they're not well-positioned to win in January, and thus would rather have another six months to politick.

posted by Ace at 01:02 PM

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