On June 30, 2003, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-“Sistani issued a fatwa…declaring [Director of Reconstruction in Iraq Paul] Bremer’s plan for an appointed body ‘fundamentally unacceptable’ and ruling that ‘general elections must be held so that every eligible Iraqi can choose someone to represent him at the constitutional convention that will write the constitution,’ which would then have to be approved by the people in a referendum.”
– Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory, Page 44