“ Washington would be happy that the election operation was comprehensive with the participation of all,” Shaalan said.

CAIRO, January 3 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi interim Defense Minister Hazem Al-Shaalan said Monday, January 3, the controversial general elections, scheduled for January 30, could be delayed to a later date if Iraqi Sunnis agreed to take part.

“We have asked our Arab brothers, particularly in Egypt and Gulf countries, to get Iraqi Sunnis to participate in the elections and if such a participation requires a delay to the election date, they could be delayed,” Shaalan told Agence-France-Presse (AFP).

“We want to give our Sunni brothers another chance even if this means delaying the vote,” he added.

The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the highest Sunni religious authority in the country, pressed for a boycott of the vote, citing the impossibility of organizing fair elections held under current deteriorating conditions.

Also, the Islamic Party, a major Sunni political player, recently backtracked on its earlier decision to vie in the elections, dealing a huge blow to hopes that all Iraq 's communities would turn out in force for the poll.

The Iraqi voters are to choose a 275-member assembly, which will be charged with writing a permanent constitution.

If adopted in a referendum next year, the constitution would form the legal basis for another general elections to be held by December, 2005.

Happy Washington

Asked if the US would accept such a delay, Shaalan expressed conviction that “ Washington would be happy that the election operation was comprehensive with the participation of all.”

US President George W. Bush repeatedly shrugged off any notion that the election should be delayed.

However, his administration reportedly proposed to grant Sunnis a number of portfolios and high-profile posts in the future government.

The administration also raised with Iraqi officials the possibility of adding some of the top Sunni vote-getters in the general elections to the interim legislature even if they lose to non-Sunni candidates, reported The New York Times on Sunday, December 26.

In interviews with IslamOnline.net several Iraqi politicians, both Shiites and Sunnis, scoffed at the proposal.

Representatives of several Iraqi parties and leading political figures have been campaigning for a six-month delay of the vote over the increasing deteriorating security conditions.

UN Iraqi envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned that holding the elections would be impossible unless “first and foremost security improves.”

A total of some 6,400 candidates on around 100 lists have been registered for the elections.

The United Iraqi Alliance, endorsed by the most revered Shiite scholar Ayatollah Ali Sistani,  includes the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Dawa Party and the Iraqi National Congress, led by one-time Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Democratic Party  (KDP) and the Islamic party of Kurdistan also have a unified slate for the vote.

The Iraqi list, headed by interim premier Iyad Allawi, includes 233 candidates, while interim president Ghazi Al-Yawar leads a 80-candidate list.