Iraqi Shi'ite Cleric Urges Election Boycott

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7474298

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A senior Shi'ite cleric urged Iraqis on Saturday to boycott Sunday's landmark elections and take up arms to expel U.S. forces from the country.

"The current elections are a conspiracy to divide and destroy Iraq," Ayatollah Ahmed al-Hassani al-Baghdadi told Reuters on the eve of Iraq's first multi-party poll in 50 years.

Baghdadi, one of the few Shi'ite clerics openly to oppose an election that is expected to cement the long-oppressed Shi'ite majority's newfound political power, said a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and scrapping the interim constitution that embraces federalism should precede a poll.

"I believe these elections will fail as most Iraqis will boycott because of the lack of security and calls for federalism ... I call on my people to boycott the elections," he said in an interview at his home in Najaf.

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[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[LynnTheDem]

2. Millions of Shia are ignoring Sistani

And are boycotting.

[Erika]

3. So we have the Sunnis and Shiites boycotting

this election.