BAGHDAD, Oct 26: Sunni leaders formed an alliance on Wednesday to fight Iraq’s next elections. Three Sunni parties joined a coalition to contest the Dec 15 parliamentary poll, after fierce Sunni opposition narrowly failed to veto a new, US-backed constitution in a referendum.

“We call upon all Iraqis to participate actively in the elections and not listen to calls for boycotts because they are harmful,” the new alliance, called the Iraqi Accord Front, said in a statement.

The alliance of the Iraqi People’s Gathering, the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Iraqi National Dialogue was the clearest sign yet that some Sunnis are turning to the ballot box after boycotting Iraq’s last parliamentary vote in January.

Iraqi and US officials are likely to welcome the move, but it is not clear if the group has much sway over guerillas resisting the occupation forces.

The referendum result is one boost for Washington, opening the way for an election US planners hope will mark Iraq’s emergence as a stable ally capable of handling its own security, removing the need for US troops.

Much depends on whether Sunnis are brought on board under a deal brokered by US diplomats days before the referendum.

Sunnis turned out in large numbers to vote against the constitution this month, but failed to muster the two-thirds majority ‘No’ in at least three provinces necessary to veto the measure. Two provinces reached the mark; a third fell short.

Some Sunni leaders said their failure to block the constitution, which many fear hands permanent control of much of Iraq to the Shias and Kurds, would spur a new political campaign to force Washington to withdraw.

“Our political programme will focus more on getting the Americans out of Iraq,” Hussein al Falluji, a prominent Sunni who took part in talks on the constitution, said in an interview.

With a Friday deadline looming for parties and electoral coalitions to register on the ballot paper for the Dec 15 vote, Sunni leaders hope to develop a coherent political strategy.

Saleh Mutlak of the Iraqi National Dialogue took a cautious view of the December polls, which will elect a full four-year parliament to replace the current transitional legislature.—AFP