Iraq's new government will lack the mandate to write a new constitution because large numbers of Sunni Muslims did not vote in the country's landmark elections last weekend, Sunni clerics said in a statement.
The statement came months after the clerics asked Sunni voters to boycott the polls because of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.
The Association of Muslim Scholars said the election "lacks legitimacy because a large portion of these people who represent many spectra have boycotted it."
The main Shiite Muslim alliance is expected to win the most seats in the National Assembly, although no final results have been announced yet.
But without the support of other parties representing the diverse religious and cultural groups in Iraq, the government's mandate to draft a new constitution could be slow-going.
U.S. election officials have said voter turnout in Sunni-dominated insurgent stronghold areas was low and voter turnout for Shiite Muslims and Kurds appeared high.
"We make it clear to the United Nations and the international community that they should not get involved in granting this election legitimacy because such a move will open the gates of evil," The Association's statement said.
"We are going to respect the choice of those who voted and we will consider the new government -- if all the parties participating in the political process agree on it -- as a transitional government with limited powers."
In Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, police Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Jubouri threatened insurgents with tough action if they did not hand over their weapons in two weeks.
He offered them amnesty if they followed his orders to give up their weapons.
In an interview with the provincial television station, al-Jubouri threatened "to wipe out any village that would hide weapons after the two-week period and shell any safe haven for the insurgents."
In November, insurgents in Mosul rose up in support of rebels under siege in Fallujah.
The 5,000-member police force deserted the city until U.S. and Iraqi troops regained control.
In other news on Wednesday, a Shiite cleric who ran in local council elections in Najaf escaped an assassination attempt, police said.
Shiite Muslim Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, whose party is expected to win the most parliamentary seats, said his group wants the post of prime minister.
He told Associated Press that the new government would include Sunni Arabs.
"We are passing through a very dangerous phase," he said. "This is an important phase in building the new Iraq. We don't want to ignore anything that could one day become a source of alarm for Iraqis," he said.
On Tuesday, Iraqi officials confirmed a ballot shortage in Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul, cities home to substantial Sunni populations.
Iraq's interim president said that tens of thousands may have been unable to vote because polling stations ran out of ballots.
With files from Associated Press
