Iraq: Broadly based electoral alliance unveiled

By: Hamoud Kufi

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Iraqis on Thursday announced a broadly based alliance ahead of January 30's key elections that is backed by Marjaiyah.

The United Iraqi Alliance groups the Dawa party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress, Dawa's Ali Adib told reporters here.

A member of the coalition's organising committee Hussein Shahrastani said Moqtada As-Sadr is not on the 228-strong list backed by Ayatullah As-Sistani.

“It contains parties and political currents as well as independent figures of different confessions and ethnic groups and takes into consideration the demographic and geographic balance in Iraq,” said Adib.

The list also contained Sunnis, and Faili Kurds, he added.

Iraqis are to elect 275 members of a national assembly in the vote planned for January 30, the country's first free and multi-party polls in half a century.

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