
5,797 Policy 2021/08/18 19:21
Baghdad today –
Baghdad
Informed sources revealed today, Wednesday, that the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, set two conditions to reverse the decision to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The sources said, according to what was reported by “Al-Sharq al-Awsat” newspaper, that “the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, informed senior religious leaders in Najaf that he was ready to reverse the decision to boycott the elections, but after fulfilling two basic conditions.”
Al-Sadr appeared recently in a video clip as he was leaving the house of the Supreme Leader, Ali al-Sistani, to attend the Muharram mourning council, and a lot of political speculation was raised about his presence there.
However, a high-ranking source from Najaf told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Al-Sadr did not meet the Grand Ayatollah, while he exchanged “serious conversations” with those close to him to a high degree.”
Intersecting sources confirmed, “A meeting took place between the two parties,” noting that “Al-Sadr spoke briefly with his interlocutors, and was responding to questions about his position on the elections.”
According to the sources, al-Sadr “expressed his willingness to return and participate in the elections, setting two conditions that must be met before that.”
The source quoted the atmosphere of the meeting as saying, “Al-Sadr’s first condition is to postpone the election date to another date so that his party can prepare well and ensure justice with the rest of the competing blocs, which have campaigned for weeks.”
However, the second condition that al-Sadr raised during the meeting may provoke political controversy at the internal and regional levels. The source says that “the leader of the Sadrist movement stipulated a position on the authority of Al-Sistani in which he condemns the uncontrolled arms groups in Iraq, which threaten the security of the elections.”
According to the source, “Al-Sadr believes that his rivals from the armed factions can use violence to change the map of forces and the political balance of the Shiites, in favor of groups that undermine the state.”