THE largest Sunni party in Iraq gave warning yesterday of civil war unless the January 30 elections are delayed to allow it to compete on equal terms.

The Iraqi Islamic Party said that the once-powerful Sunni minority could turn against fellow Iraqis if they are left with little stake in a future National Assembly dominated by Shias and Kurds. The warning came as Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawer, the Sunni interim president, admitted that calls for a postponement were causing a growing rift between the communities, although he played down the threat of violence.

But Yousef Ghadban, technical director of the Iraqi Islamic Party, which recently withdrew from the government in protest at the US-led assault on Fallujah, said that internecine violence was a very real prospect unless electoral commissioners delayed the poll for six months.

He said that death threats against candidates and continuing violence in the Sunni Triangle had made it impossible for his and other Sunni parties to match the Shias’ and Kurds’ progress in registering and canvassing supporters. He said: “Many experts have warned of a civil war after the elections, and certainly this could happen in Iraq.”

Speaking inside the mosque of a building that once served as offices for Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, he added: “If you are about to ignore me and do not listen to my opinion, what do you expect?” The first democratic multiparty elections for more than half a century are to elect a 275-member National Assembly that will select a government to replace the US-appointed interim administration headed by Sheikh Yawer and Iyad Allawi, the Prime Minister.

Iraq’s 65 per cent Shia majority are well advanced in their preparations and look certain to dominate the post-election landscape, much to the alarm of the 20 per cent Sunni minority who enjoyed more than a century of unchallenged dominance under Ottoman, British and Baathist rule.

Led by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the Shias are impatient for the polls. They have assembled a combined list of parties to maximise their appeal. This includes the two largest parties, Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, along with smaller groupings including that of Ahmad Chalabi, the former Pentagon favourite.

The Shias insist they are not seeking to exert dominance but will focus on their priorities: writing a constitution, ensuring participation by all Iraqis and working towards sovereignty — widely taken to mean negotiations for an accelerated removal of US-led occupation troops.

The Kurds are also well prepared, announcing yesterday their own single candidate list which includes Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party and Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

But Sunni parties appear to be far behind in their preparations. Some — such as Sheikh Yawer, who announced the formation of his own “Iraqis” party yesterday — want to participate in order to ensure some Sunni seats in the assembly.

Other moderates, led by the veteran Sunni diplomat Adnan Pachachi, called for a delay last Friday saying that they need more time to organise in areas riven by violence. Hardliners — including insurgent groups and fundamentalist clerics — threaten violence against anyone taking part in the poll.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, led by the prominent Sunni figure Mohsen Abdul Hameed, firmed up its demands for a delay yesterday, saying that it will boycott the poll unless its conditions are met. These include improved security across “the entire country”, the presence of UN, EU or Arab League observers and suspension of the state of emergency announced by Dr Allawi last month.

Conceding that he was spending much of his time trying to bring the feuding sides together, Sheikh Yawer said that the elections should go ahead on January 30 “from a legal and a moral point of view”. Indicating that he felt uncomfortable as president of a US-appointed interim regime, he said: “Personally it wouldn’t give me any pleasure to stay as an appointed president.

“I want to see how popular I am in the Iraqi political arena and how many constituents I have. On the other hand, the other camp who are calling for delaying the elections have some valid and reasonable reasons to ask for that.

“Unfortunately the declaration that happened last Friday caused a lot of aggravation and made some polarities. There are two camps right now and the gap is widening. We are trying to narrow that gap.”

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