Al-Sadr confuses the Iraqi political scene by calling on his supporters to boycott the elections
At a sensitive time, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, dealt a major blow to the local elections scheduled to be held at the end of next month, especially in terms of competition between him and the forces of the Shiite coordinating framework in the central and southern governorates with a Shiite majority.
Al-Sadr decided on his position on holding the elections, at a time when the fever of electoral competition between the various political forces began to escalate. He said in a statement in which he addressed his supporters, “Your participation with the corrupt saddens me greatly… Your boycott of the elections is something that makes me happy and angers the enemy… It reduces the legitimacy of the elections internationally and internally and reduces the dominance of the corrupt and subservient people over our beloved Iraq (…).”
Al-Sadr stressed “unity of ranks, obedience, and loyalty,” which he considered the most important “rule” for his supporters. As he bragged about this, he recommended “a commitment to reform even if Muqtada al-Sadr dies.” He continued: “Then the global and regional situation is affecting the situation in Iraq… and with it we must be constantly vigilant and prepared, as the enemy is lurking in our Iraq and our sanctities, so please be careful.”
This is the second important decision taken by Al-Sadr after his decision in June 2022 to withdraw from Parliament after his list came first and he announced his withdrawal from the political process and not to participate in any future elections, so as not to participate with “corrupt politicians,” as he described it. While the replacements for Al-Sadr’s resigned deputies were distributed among the various forces of the coordination framework, which raised their percentage in Parliament and made them the largest parliamentary bloc that nominated the current Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, to form the government, the specter of Al-Sadr’s return remained an obsession worrying his opponents in the Shiite community.
Meanwhile, the general official of the “Peace Brigades,” Tahseen Al-Hamidawi, on Monday, issued a warning to the brigade formations regarding the provincial council elections. He said in a blog: “As it was, and will remain, the opinion of the leader Muqtada al-Sadr is the chapter of discourse in our jihadi and social journey, and after (Al-Sadr’s) answer regarding the provincial council elections, here I address my words to those who belong to the Mujahid Peace Brigades formations and have involved themselves in these elections, to withdraw their candidacy during 15 days, otherwise we will have another response.”
The rule of law reduces
The State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, downplayed the importance of Al-Sadr’s call, in the first response by a Shiite to Al-Sadr’s call to boycott the elections.
The leader in the State of Law, Saad Al-Muttalabi, said, “Part of the Shiite component will boycott the provincial council elections, while the rest of the Shiite component will participate, and boycotting part of any component does not affect the legitimacy of the elections internationally or internally, and if the entire Shiite component was boycotting, there would be an impact.” The same applies to the Sunni and Kurdish components.”
Al-Muttalabi explained that “the Shiite component will participate in the electoral process as candidates and voters, so there is nothing that will make the elections lose its legitimacy.” He added, “The Iraqi constitution affirmed that there is no ceiling on the percentage of participants in the elections to determine their legitimacy or not. Therefore, any percentage, even if it is very small, will be considered a constitutional and legitimate election.”
Shiite boycott
Dr. Ihsan Al-Shammari, head of the Center for Political Thinking in Iraq, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The call by the leader of the Sadrist movement to boycott the elections is a continuation of the general path of his boycott of the entire political process, and therefore the issue is not limited to withdrawal from Parliament only, but at all levels.” And the regions, which indicates that he will not join with those he calls the corrupt and murderers within any electoral mechanism or other.”
According to Al-Shammari, “The second path in this call is to boycott these elections by a Shiite majority, as the Sadrist movement was the Shiite leader in the election results, and thus its audience did not participate, which means a large Shiite audience boycotted it.”
Regarding the third track, Al-Shammari says, “This matter will double the percentage of boycotters, especially since there are calls for a boycott from various political forces that also called for a boycott of the elections, but in any case they were waiting for the final word from the leader of the Sadrist movement on this matter.” “This will affect the entire political process and completely confuse it.”
For his part, Dr. Ghaleb Al-Daami, a researcher and academic for Asharq Al-Awsat, believes that “Al-Sadr’s call for a boycott is the first statement after the formation of this government with such clarity and accuracy, as he says: We will not participate in a government and in elections that clearly legitimizes corruption, and he thanks his fans.” They must obey him, so that they are not part of a corrupt scene,” adding, “This means that he opposes the government, opposes the elections, and opposes any action that results from that.”
Al-Daami explained, “Al-Sadr, according to what was stated in his statement, expects future matters related to the region, and calls for paying attention to them better than paying attention to these elections, which will not have a popular resonance.”
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2023-11-13 15:11:59
