Top Iraqi Shiite leader in Ankara for talks

The influential leader is expected to share Ankara’s concerns over a possible delay of local elections slated to take place simultaneously with the parliamentary elections in Kirkuk, an oil-rich city in the north with an ethnically mixed population. His visit takes place on his request and is welcomed in Ankara, said Turkish officials. Al-Hakim came after wrapping up talks in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The Iraqi Supreme Election Board has rejected a delay in the municipal polls in Kirkuk, as proposed by two Iraqi Kurdish groups running northern Iraq but observers said the Kurdish parties, who want a postponement until more Kurds return to their former homes in the city, were likely to push forward the idea.

An aide of Al-Hakim said the Shiite leader wanted the local elections to take place, without elaborating.
The delay in local polls was proposed last month by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani. Local elections are likely to weaken the firm grip of Kurds in the local administrative institutions of Kirkuk, such as the municipal assembly

Future leader

Shiites make up 60 percent of the population and look set to win in Iraq’s upcoming elections. Last week, Shiite groups announced a list of candidates for the polls and al-Hakim is the No. 1 name on that list, making him likely to win a top government post in the new Iraq.
Al-Hakim is the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the biggest Shiite party in Iraq, and is a close ally of Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sistani, highly revered and regarded by most of the country’s Shiite population as their leader.
Turkish leaders would like to see influential Shiites supporting Turkmens, a community with close ethnic ties to Turkey, in their quest for greater representation in the new Iraq. That issue is expected to be on the agenda when al-Hakim meets Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül today (Tuesday).

The Turkish side will be highlighting, at the meeting with al-Hakim, the necessity for all elements of the Iraqi population to have a say in the shaping of the future of Iraq and to participate in the upcoming elections, added diplomatic sources.
Iraqi Shiites have already placed seven Turkmens on their 228-member election list.