SIIC chief: Voting is religious, national duty

NAJAF / IraqiNews.com: Head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) Abdelaziz al-Hakeem on Sunday said that participation in the upcoming provincial council elections, due to take place later this month, is a religious and national duty. “We are approaching provincial council elections, which, as you know, are significant,” Hakeem said during an election rally in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, which was attended by the governor, his deputy, and several candidates. “Participating in the electoral process is a religious and national duty, as made clear in statements by top religious clerics…,” Hakeem added. The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (previously known as Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)) is an Iraqi political party. Its political support comes from the country’s Shiite Muslim community. It is one of the main components of the Shiite Unified Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which holds 83 seats in the 275-member parliament. In light of its gains in both elections and government appointments, the council is one of Iraq’s most powerful political parties and the largest party in the Iraqi Council of Representatives. The city of Najaf lies 160 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (S) 1