'Men of politics' campaign for votes on stump in Iraq

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BAGHDAD -- Just months ago, Fattahlah Ghazi al-Esmaili was penning articles in support of Iraq's Shi'ite uprising as editor for Ishriqat, a newspaper for rebel cleric Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi's Army militia.

Now the 38-year-old has abandoned his Arab head scarf for a neat beige suit and is out pumping the flesh in his run for parliament at the head of a 180-candidate list representing the impoverished Shi'ites of Sadr City.

"Before, we were men of the Mahdi's Army. Now we are men of politics," says the journalist, who goes by the pen name Fattah al-Sheikh. "Yesterday, we were out on the streets. Today, we are here campaigning, and hopefully tomorrow, we'll be in the presidential palace."

Despite unrelenting violence and public confusion, the campaign for Iraq's Jan. 30 parliamentary elections is picking up steam, with candidates making discreet campaign stops and distributing information. Individuals, parties and coalitions are vying for places in the 275-seat parliament, which will name a new government, draw up a constitution and prepare for elections by the end of 2005.

Iraq's Sunni minority, which stands to be sidelined after decades of running the country, bitterly opposes the elections. Some have joined forces with al Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, last week all but declared war on the elections in a videotape broadcast on Arabic television. At least two candidates and three election workers have been assassinated since the campaign season began in mid-December.

But the Shi'ites -- especially in places like Sadr City that were neglected and repressed under Saddam Hussein -- generally look forward to the elections, though many are not sure for what they are voting or what free elections mean.

Even Sheik al-Sadr, who led an uprising against the U.S.-led coalition and originally opposed the elections, now appears to be withholding judgment.

Many candidates forgo street appearances or rallies in favor of well-guarded press conferences that serve to drum up attention in the press.

Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's loyalists in the interim government have issued a flood of press releases trumpeting their achievements, such as signing a scientific cooperation agreement with Egypt or starting work on bridge repairs in the southern city of Nasariyah.

But Mr. al-Esmaili is among the few who regularly venture into the streets of the capital, often with no escort other than his driver, a lithe amputee who walks with crutches.