Iraqi Shia political leaders insisted on Thursday that elections scheduled for January could still go ahead, despite fresh indications by Iraqi and United Nations officials that mounting violence threatens to postpone the long-delayed polls.
Ghazi al-Yawar, Iraq's US-appointed president, said on Thursday during a visit to The Hague: "I think it is a little premature to decide on this issue [the timing of the elections]... Our priority is to work on restoring security....We want to hold the elections in a safe and secure environment."
His comments come a day after Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, said that Iraqi elections cannot be held if the country's current instability persists. Mr Yawar had previously said that the final decision on holding elections rested with the UN.
The hesistation by the UN and interim government follows fierce fighting this week in Iraq's Sunni Arab provinces and in Baghdad. A series of kidnappings of foreigners has also undermined confidence. On Thursday, two US citizens and a Briton were taken by gunmen, from a house in the Mansour neighbourhood of Baghdad.
Elections held under current circumstances may exclude the very groups that they are designed to bring into the Iraqi political process - former Baathists and Iraq's Sunni community which previously had dominated Iraq's political life.
As recently as last Saturday, Iyad Allawi, Iraq's interim prime minister, had insisted that the elections would go ahead as planned.
Last week, US President George W. Bush said Iraqi national elections "will be held in January." But on Thursday, he said only that "national elections are scheduled for January" and noted "ongoing acts of violence" in Iraq.
A delay in the polls risks further alienating Iraq's majority Shia community, who feel that they have most to gain from elections. The prolonged siege of the city of Najaf in August by US troops has provoked anger among Shia leaders, and a delay in the election could deepen that resentment.
Walid al-Hilli, a spokesman for the Shia Islamist Dawa party, which is represented in the interim government, claimed on Thursday that polls could go ahead.
"I agree that security is very important - but it is possible to hold elections in the whole of Iraq. Whether it is realistic or not ... it is better than an appointed government," Mr Hilli said.
Earlier this year Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shia religious leader in Iraq, led a campaign urging nation-wide polls. Mr Sistani had agreed to the formation of the interim government, provided the January election date was met.
A delay would put Mr Sistani in a difficult position. He, most observers believe, is one of the few sources of stability in Iraq.
"Ayatollah Sistani has said so many times that elections should be held. Any change will cause him .. upset," Mr Hilli said.
A senior British government official said any postponement would erode confidence in the interim Iraqi government: "If there were a delay," said the official "it would be costly for us because the expression of popular support for the new [elected] Iraqi government would enhance its authority."
Mr Allawi is expected to discuss the timing of the elections with Tony Blair, UK prime minister, on a visit to London on Sunday. Mr Allawi's visit to the UK will be his first to the west since he was appointed prime minister in June.
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