In the days before the election , Kirkuk was festooned with posters and banners for the three main lists of candidates competing in Kirkuk : the Kurdish Kirkuk Brotherhood List , showing an oil well and the Kurdish national colors ; the Iraqi Turkmen Front , signified by a light blue crescent and star ; and the candle of the United Iraqi Alliance , the so-called Sistani list named for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani of Najaf , who had endorsed it .