Upcoming provincial elections “critical – important” – Hakim

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Sayyid Abdulaziz al-Hakim, on Saturday said that the upcoming provincial elections acquire special importance, attributing this issue to what he called “the necessity of preserving the accomplishments that have been achieved.” “This requires qualified and honest people to be in positions to bear the responsibility of running the country and serve its people,” al-Hakim who is also the head the Unified Iraqi Alliance (UIA) Shiite parliamentary bloc (83 out of 275 seats) said in a speech addressed to a number of his supporters in Baghdad. Concerning the proposed Iraqi-U.S. security pact, al-Hakim said “there should be a unanimous agreement between the political and national components within the Iraqi arena, similar to the one when the constitution was drafted and the country has been administrated,” he added. MH (P)/SR  1