Baghdad (AsiaNews) - The provisional government body in Iraq met today to review plans for transition of power, as announced last Nov. 15 Up for discussion are also requests advanced by the Shiite ayatollah, Al-Sistani.

The transition plan foresees the nomination of provincial and ethnic group representatives in order to form a transitional government. Nominations should occur under the provisional government body's watch.

Ayatollah Al-Sistani emphasized that "the present (governing) body was not elected" and appealed to the coalition to "keep its promises" by supporting  full-scale elections processes –thereby refraining from nominating future representatives. Therefore, he requested the convocation of municipal elections and legislative rulings, in addition to a greater nod to Islam and Shariat code (i.e. Koranic law) when forming any future constitution or law.

Shiites in Iraq form 65% of the population. In any democracy based on numbers, they would have a great advantage. For now, Jalal Talabani, the current provisional government body president, assured that Al-Sistani's requests would be taken into consideration.

During his brief visit to Iraq, U.S. president George W. Bush delivered a message to the ayatollah in which he said he agreed with him in terms of "building a democracy capable of making the Iraqi people happy."

The Shiite community in Iraq is not united, especially with regard to foreign troops. On one hand, there are the followers of Al-Sistani who ascent to their presence in silence: and on the other, there are those of the religious leader, Muktada Al-Sadr, who waste no time in launching criticism toward the Americans.

On Friday Nov. 28, in the Al-Kufa mosque south of Baghdad, Imam Muktada Al-Sadr gave a sermon harshly condemning Bush's speedy visit to American troops on Thanksgiving day. He defined the visit as "unacceptable", underscoring that any "such visit must, at any rate, have prior consent of the Iraqi people."   

Shiites are still united in desiring a constitution based on the Koran and Shariat code.

Analysts fear that, under Shiite pressure, the new Iraqi constitution currently being drafted is assuming religious aspects to the detriment of the laity, who are needed to keep a single nation united among a multi-ethnic and multi-religious populace. In Iraq there is a population of 23 million, of which 96% are Muslim, distinguished according Shiites (65%) and Sunnites (34%). Christians of various rites make up the other 4% of the population (of which 270,000 are Catholic). There are also Arabs ethnic groups (65%), Kurds (23%), Azeris (5.6%) and  still others. (P.B.)     

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