Hadi Al-Amiri, a parliamentarian who heads the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council's (ISCI) former armed wing, the Badr Organization, said democracy in Iraq would be better served by a government of like-minded political factions, facing a strong opposition capable of keeping the authorities in check.
ISCI leads a mainly Shiite-based electoral coalition, the Iraqi National Alliance, that is likely to be a member of any government formed after the March 7 parliamentary vote.
"The view of the alliance is that the government is like a car. And we can't let everyone who wins in the next election take a seat because the car won't be able to move properly and will stop again and again," Amiri told Reuters on Monday.
"We believe it is better for government performance if only those committed to a common notion of leadership participate in the government. The rest who differ should be in opposition and therefore able to put strong pressure on the government to perform," Amiri said in an interview.
Just emerging from sectarian warfare between majority Shiites and once dominant Sunnis triggered by the 2003 US invasion, Iraq is struggling to cement a lasting peace.
The March 7 vote is viewed as pivotal as US troops prepare to end combat operations in August and withdraw completely by end-2011, and global oil firms venture into Iraq to help increase its crude output.
Overall violence has fallen sharply, but sectarian tension has flared ahead of the election over a ban on candidates with supposed links to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.
Some people fear Sunnis could take up arms again if they do not gain a fair stake in the next government. Western diplomats warn against underestimating the resentment Sunnis feel at their loss of power and the rise of Shiite political domination.
The current government is a deliberate patchwork of ethno-sectarian groups. Critics argue that it has led to ineffective governance, shoddy public services and security gaps because of mutual suspicions and poor collaboration.
Amiri, whose powerful group has tentacles throughout the security services and the Shiite south, said the INA was not opposed to working with like-minded Sunnis in the next government. But it did not see a need to build a government comprising every component of the Iraqi political kaleidoscope.
"We have no objection, but we can't participate with all the Sunnis and Kurds who win. That's impossible," he said.
Amiri said he backed the ban on candidates alleged to have links to the Baath party, which under Saddam ruthlessly suppressed Shiites and Kurds, and said he expected Sunnis to vote in enthusiastic numbers in March despite the ban.
He strongly denounced warnings from Sunni politicians, including Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi and one of the banned candidates, Saleh Al-Mutlaq, that the ban could lead to sectarian violence.
