BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Thousands of Iraqis in the southern city of Basra staged peaceful demonstrations for direct electionsThursday.
The top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani has called for the new administration to be elected not selected.
Demonstrators waving banners poured into the area around Basra's main mosque and chanted "No, no to America, yes, yes to Sistani."
The BBC said not a single shot was fired, testament to the power of the Shiite clerics, who had called for a peaceful protest.
The clash has arisen over a Nov. 15 agreement signed between the U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer and the Iraqi Governing Council, which outlines the process of the handover of power.
The document sets a June 30 deadline for the transition of power.
It says the new governing assembly should be selected by regional caucuses made up of "notables," but Sistani has demanded direct elections to the assembly.
