Hey, some good news from Iraq....

This sounds important.

As befits the holder of a doctorate in classical Arabic, Adnan al Duleimi is known as one of the more polished orators among Iraq's aspiring politicians. Yet his popularity in volatile Sunni districts is based on the stubborn repetition of a single word: La, or No.

It was No to taking part in Iraq's historic elections last January and No in the constitution referendum. He is a firm No man on the continued presence of American troops. Such is his rejectionist record that the joke among Iraqis is that he would automatically decline a dinner invitation. But now, the man nicknamed Dr No is saying Yes.

Defying expectations, he has ended his boycott of the US-fostered political process and is campaigning in this week's elections for a new Iraqi government. The stern, grey-haired septuagenarian is one of a clutch of influential Sunni figures who, after more than two years of favouring the bullet rather than the ballot, have decided to seek office.

"Until now he has said 'No' to many things because there was nothing right in the government," said Mohamed Faeq, his spokesman. "But now we will try to stop the fighting and create a dialogue between the resistance and the American occupation. We want to stop the bloodshed, defend the rights of the Sunnis and get our place back in government."

The decision by the likes of Dr al Duleimi to embrace democracy, however tentatively, is a huge relief to coalition officials, who hope that some of the energy being channelled into Iraq's Sunni-led insurgency will now be diverted into peaceful politics. His Sunni Family party, along with several other Sunni coalitions, could win up to 25 per cent of the seats when the polls open on Thursday.

It is also a tacit admission by some Sunnis that their previous tactic of boycotting the elections in the hope of derailing the process entirely was a mistake, leaving the group that ruled absolutely under Saddam Hussein virtually powerless.