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  US set for Iraq election retreat
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Jan 21, 2004 03:15am
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MediaNewspaper - Guardian
News DateWednesday, January 21, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionUS set for Iraq election retreat

The US-led coalition in Iraq is on the verge of bowing to Shia Muslim pressure for direct elections before the handover of power on June 30. According to British officials, the Blair government has been swayed by Shia arguments and the US is also shifting ground. They believe that Paul Bremer, the US head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) running Iraq, has been persuaded of the need for direct elections, provided it can be shown that they are practicable.

A shift in plans for elections follows a series of abrupt policy changes made by the coalition over the last few months, mainly forced by events on the ground, and will add to the sense of disarray in the CPA. The CPA has come under sustained pressure in recent days from Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq. Tens of thousands of his supporters staged protests in Baghdad and across Iraq yesterday and on Monday demanding direct elections this summer.

A key factor in the timing of elections in Iraq has been George Bush's determination to have power transferred to Iraqis before the US presidential election in November. Mr Bremer came up with a seven-step programme leading to the transfer of power next year but this was scrapped and replaced with the present plan, which envisages a transitional Iraqi government being selected by the "great and the good" in 18 regional caucuses, followed by direct elections next year.
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