"The military presence of the United States in Iraq is a necessity until at least the first democratic election is held, and I think this process should take two years," Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, said in an interview with the ABC television network.

Chalabi, who returned to Iraq shortly after the Iraq war broke out, said Islamic religious parties in Iraq could have a role in postwar Iraqi politics.

"There is a role for the Islamic religious parties ... because they have some constituencies. But they are not going to be forcing any agenda or any theocracy on the Iraqi people," he said.

Chalabi, who is widely believed to be favored by the Pentagon but disapproved by the State Department, reiterated that he would not be a candidate for office in an interim authority to be set up under US guidance.

"I am not seeking a political position in Iraq at this time. I want to focus on building civil society, I want to focus on building democratic institutions," Chalabi said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2003)