Some Iraqis linked the election boycott to the killing of relatives by US government forces

The havoc wreaked on the mainly Shiite neighborhood during a US-led onslaught and the killing of many loved ones by the occupation forces also contributed to the election apathy.

“Myself and my five sons are boycotting the elections to protest the death of my son, who was killed by the government of (interim prime minister Ayad) Allawi,” said Umm Fadel.

“They killed my son. How can we elect them?”

Abdel Zahra Aqel, 70, also had a similar heartbreaking story.

“Allawi’s government killed my two sons, I would not be part of this process,” he said.

Umm Ali, another mother, accused the interim government and the US forces of burning down her home.

Sadr’s Mahdi Army fighters in City district agreed on Saturday, October 9, to disarm and stop attacks against US occupation forces under a deal reached with the interim government.

Fighting erupted at the beginning of April in Sadr City, leaving at least 1,000 people killed and the district’s infra-structure devastated.

Campaigning Elsewhere

In other Shiite majority neighborhoods of Baghdad, election posters and signs carrying fatwas from Sistani urging Iraqis to take part in the elections are everywhere.

The scene is completely different in the Sunni neighborhoods where similar signs encourage boycotting the elections.

The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the highest Sunni religious authority in the country, called for a boycott of the vote, citing the impossibility of organizing fair elections held under current deteriorating conditions.

However, the Islamic Party, a major Sunni political player, and other smaller groups have signaled readiness to vie in the elections to choose a 275-member assembly that will write a permanent constitution.

This difference leaves most Sunnis caught in the dilemma of to vote or not to vote.

A total of some 6,400 candidates on around 100 lists have been registered for the elections, according to final figures released Thursday.

The Sistani-endorsed United Iraqi Alliance includes the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Dawa Party and the Iraqi National Congress, led by one-time Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Democratic Party  (KDP) and the Islamic party of Kurdistan also have a unified slate for the vote.

The Iraqi list, headed by Allawi, includes 233 candidates, while interim president Ghazi Al-Yawar leads a 80-candidate list.

Iraqis will choose a 275-member assembly that will write a permanent constitution.

If adopted in a referendum next year, the constitution would form the legal basis for another general election to be held by December, 2005.

Under an election law adopted this year, there will be no electoral boundaries for the January vote, with the entire country treated as a single constituency.