Shi’ites back cleric call for elections

TENS of thousands of Shi’ite Muslims shouting “No to America!” marched in Basra yesterday to back their spiritual leader’s call for early elections, a stand that could stymie a US blueprint for transferring power to a new Iraqi administration.

The demonstration in Iraq’s second-largest city followed a string of violent incidents in the country, including a car bombing in Baqouba and a series of clashes between US troops and insurgents that left 20 people dead.

An estimated 20,000-30,000 Shi’ite Muslims turned out to support Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani’s demand that an interim legislature be elected directly and not chosen in provincial caucuses, as called for under the American plan.