Sunnis set to participate in Iraq’s December election

A SUNNI Arab coalition yesterday submitted its list of candidates for the December elections, signalling the intention of many Sunnis to join the political process despite their failure to block ratification of the new constitution.

In the latest violence, five American service members three soldiers and two Marines were killed on Thursday in separate attacks. Their deaths raised the number of US military killed since the beginning of the war to 2,010.

An alliance of Shi'ite parties, which won the largest number of parliamentary seats in the January 30 election, also met yesterday's deadline and submitted its candidate list to the Independent Election Commission.

Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, submitted his own list, including candidates from all communities.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, a Shi'ite and former Pentagon insider, was expected to run under his own standard after he was unable to reach an agreement with the Shi'ite alliance that he joined before the January vote.

Sunni Arab participation in politics is considered vital to calm the Sunni-led insurgency and enabling the US and its partners to begin drawing down troop levels next year.

Many Sunnis boycotted the January election, enabling majority Shi'ites and Kurds to dominate both the government and preparation of the new constitution.

Many Sunnis opposed the constitution, fearing it will divide the country.

On Tuesday, however, the election commission announced that the charter was approved by nearly 80% of the voters in the October 15 referendum. Voters in two Sunni-dominated provinces overwhelmingly rejected the constitution, raising concern that Sunni Arabs might forego politics in favour of armed resistance.

The new candidate lists by the Sunnis' Iraqi Accord Front and the Shi'ite's United Iraqi Alliance indicated that the December 15 balloting will be contested along ethnic and sectarian lines. Kurds were also expected to submit their own list.

The Shi'ite Alliance includes Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Dawa Party, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Fadhila party. The Alliance, which includes religious parties with strong Iranian ties, controls 146 of the 275 seats in the National Assembly.