New Iraqi Government Facing Its First Big Test

"There was no effort to explain to the public how to get involved, which has created a lot of confusion about the whole process," he said after returning from a trip to the Sunni Triangle, north and west of Baghdad. U.S. officials have also been concerned about the lack of public outreach.

To prevent a Sunni boycott, Mukhlis said he has been urging those who refused invitations to become candidates to reverse course. U.N. officials are also planning to talk to those boycotting the conference, said Iraqi officials, who remain optimistic about the event.

"We will see uproar and complaints that it was not inclusive enough and so and so was not let in. But we're also getting petitions daily to put in a good word for others to be included," Salih, the deputy prime minister, said. "There is almost too much interest in some places."

In the southern port city of Basra, more than 1,000 people vied for 43 conference seats, and almost 1,300 in Kut sought 22 positions, according to Iraqi officials.

Candidates must meet three criteria, according to Fuad Masoum, head of the preparatory committee. They must have a "good reputation," he said, and not be a former member of either Hussein's security forces or the Baath Party.

The selection process, which began last week, used a complicated formula to come up with 548 delegates from Iraq's 18 provinces, including 130 from Baghdad; 140 from political parties; 70 tribal leaders; 170 intellectuals and prominent Iraqi figures; and 100 from the preparatory committee, Masoum said.

Because the conference could make or break political careers and parties, Iraqi and U.S. officials are also concerned that sparring could leave participants bruised or angry.

Two groups are expected to make big plays for power, they say.

Members of the former U.S.-appointed Governing Council who were bypassed in the formation of the interim government, most notably Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi, are expected to try to make comebacks.

Chalabi has been mobilizing a new Shiite bloc that includes supporters of rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr. Chalabi's goal is to win a seat and ultimately become leader of the council to be formed at the conference, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials.

Religious parties also are seeking greater prominence after U.N. and U.S. envoys excluded them from the interim government. Officials in the Sunni and Kurdish communities say they expect the most intense battles to be fought over how many representatives of religious parties end up on the 100-member body. A council that was heavily religious could reject government decisions and challenge the notion that Iraq must evolve into a secular democracy.

"The Islamists are trying to take over the process big time," said Mukhlis, who charged that they were getting help from predominantly Shiite Iran. The two Shiite groups that have been particularly active are the Dawa party, whose leader, Ibrahim Jafari, won the highest popularity in opinion polls, and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Iraqis say.

The Bush administration acknowledges that the process has an inherent tension. "We want to encourage dialogue, but we also don't want the process to be so vulnerable to the folks who have opposing views that they can hijack the conference and prevent it from achieving what it was intended it to achieve: support for the political transition, endorsement of the interim government and a means to sponsor reconciliation. The Iraqis don't want this to be a divisive process," said the State Department official.

Looming over the whole process is security. A major attack could seriously undermine public enthusiasm about getting involved in politics, U.S. and Iraqi officials warn.

"We have for a long time been concerned about the security situation and how that is going to affect any large congregation of people in the middle of Baghdad," said Ahmed Fawzi, a U.N. spokesman. "This is being discussed by the preparatory committee, assisted by the U.N.," he said.

Correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran contributed to this report.