Juan Cole on Iraqi Elections

Juan's Informed Comment blog notes the following:

AFP/ ash-Sharq al-Awsat report that a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said Monday that the spiritual leader supports the formation of a committee of "independents" to form a party ticket to contest the elections scheduled for January.

Hamid al-Khaffaf said at a gathering at the Sadr Center in Najaf that "A committee of independents has been formed, the mission of which to to help everyone be represented on a unified list that would gain the confidence of the supreme Shiite leadership."

The election is now slated to be held in accordance with the principle of proportional representation, such that if a party get 20 percent of the vote it gets 20 percent of the seats. Since no indpendent candidate is likely to get more than a fraction of a percent, this way of proceeding disadvantages independents.

Al-Khaffaf admitting that no ideal parliament could be elected under such an election system. He warned that the grand ayatollahs would not hesitate to bring people into the streets for the sake of a good result in the elections such that the righteous win their rights.