Boycott Statement of Iraqi National Constituent Assembly

The intrepid Alissa Rubin of the LA Times reported last week on the meeting of political organizations in Iraq calling for a boycott of the forthcoming election. Their formal statement has just become available to me in English, and I'm reprinting below.

"In the name of God, the merciful,

The Iraqi Constituent Conference statement on its stance regarding elections

In accordance with the Iraqi National Constituent Conference statement dated 27 October 2004 regarding the "elections" to be held next year, which included the essential requirements to hold free and fair elections, and given the fact that the competent authorities did not meet these objective requirements, we announce that we will boycott these elections.

We are boycotting these elections because they will not represent the will of our people and their just demands for sovereignty and independence given that such elections will be held under imposed bases stipulated in the interim State Administration Law. This law was rejected by independent political and religious figures because it represents a grave threat to Iraq's future, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The attack on Iraqi cities, especially the savage annihilation crime in Al-Fallujah, represents a definite obstacle for Iraqis to adequately take part in the political process under the control of the occupation and in the absence of sovereignty. How can it be possible to hold national dialogue and engage in the political process while criminal conduct is targeting the people?

We, in the Iraqi National Constituent Conference, declare our commitment to free and fair elections when their full requirements are met. Therefore, we call on our people to boycott [the elections] and not to be fooled by the misleading media which want the process to slip through and falsify the will of our people in Iraq through legitimizing the schemes of the occupation and the non-elected government.


General Secretariat Members:

1. Secretary-general of the congress, Shaykh Muhammad Jawad al-Khalisi

2. Official spokesman, Dr Wamid Jamal Nazmi

3. Association of Muslim Scholars

4. Arab Nationalist Movement

5. Imam Al-Khalisi University

6. Democratic Reform Party

7. Unified People's Party

8. Iraqi Turkoman Front

9. Iraqi Christian Democratic Party

10. Islamic Bloc in Iraq

11. The Office of Ayatollah Ahmad al-Husayni al-Baghdadi

12. The Office of Ayatollah Qasim al-Ta'i

13. Union of Iraqi Jurists [Huquqiyun]

14. Higher Committee for Human Rights

15. Iraqi Women's Association



The Iraqi National Constituent Conference

2 Shawwal 1425 [AH], corresponding to 15 November 2004"