JEDDAH, 29 October 2004 — Iraq’s principal Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has informed the interim Iraqi government of his “full support” for elections scheduled for January.
“The grand ayatollah’s message is that elections should be held as scheduled and that he will advise the faithful to take active part,” Sistani’s spokesman Ahmad Safi told Arab News yesterday.
Safi denied earlier reports that Sistani might call for a boycott of the elections.
“The grand ayatollah asked for free elections just days after the fall of Saddam Hussein,” Safi said. “His position has not changed. He believes that only free elections would allow the people of Iraq to choose a legitimate power and bring the occupation to a rapid end.”
Sistani’s support comes as a major boost to plans for the election that is designed to choose a constituent assembly to finalize a draft constitution that will then be submitted to the people in a referendum.
Sistani’s support was a conveyed in a message handed to interim Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh who visited the grand ayatollah in Najaf, in central Iraq, on Wednesday.
During his visit to Najaf, Saleh also informed Sistani of “ a major aid package” for the Shiite city that was ravaged by weeks of armed insurrection by a group of militants led by Moqtada Sadr, a junior cleric who has since disbanded his militia.
The package, believed to be worth $8 million, will finance repairs at the mosque of Imam Ali, at the center of the city, and the expansion of its courtyards and surrounding park. Compensation will also be paid to owners of some 400 shops and homes destroyed or partly damaged in the fighting between the Sadr militia and the US-led coalition forces.
The fighting halted the flow of visitors to Najaf that had topped the seven million mark, an all time record, in the 12 months that preceded the Sadist uprising. Most visitors came from other parts of Iraq.
