Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani emerged as a defining force in Iraq's January 2005 elections despite being ineligible to vote or stand as a candidate. Born in Iran, the 73-year-old cleric holds no Iraqi citizenship, yet his influence over the country's Shiite majority proved decisive in driving voter turnout, particularly in the holy city of Najaf.
Sistani urged followers to treat participation as a religious obligation and endorsed the predominantly Shiite United Iraqi Alliance. Residents of Najaf credited him directly with their decision to vote. One schoolteacher said of him: "His words are just and sincere."
Unlike Iran's late Ayatollah Khomeini, Sistani opposes direct clerical rule, preferring to serve as a moral guide rather than a governing authority. He spent years under house arrest during Saddam Hussein's rule and has since lived in near-seclusion in Najaf.
His political weight has been felt repeatedly since the 2003 US-led invasion. He pressured coalition administrators to hold direct elections rather than allow an appointed body to draft a constitution. When cleric Moqtada Sadr's forces clashed with US troops in Najaf, Sistani returned from medical treatment in London and persuaded Sadr to stand down. He also resisted Sunni calls to postpone the January vote.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.