Top Shi'ite: All Iraqis To Be Represented In Parliament

Posters urge Iraqis to vote in the elections 19 January 2005 -- A leading Iraqi Shi'ite politician says Sunnis and all others in Iraq will be included in the new government if the Shi'ites, as expected, win most of the seats in the new National Assembly.

Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, who heads the 233-member ticket of the United Iraqi Alliance, made the pledge today in an interview with the AP. He said Iraq cannot be rebuilt by just one or two groups.

Many Sunni Arabs fear the majority Shi'ites will take power in the 30 January ballot and end generations of Sunni domination of Iraqi politics. Sunni insurgents have threatened to attack polling stations to try to subvert the election.

Iraqis are scheduled to elect a 275-member National Assembly. Al-Hakim's list, which is backed by Iraq's leading Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is expected to win the majority of the vote.

(AP)