Iraq PM welcomes Muqtada al-Sadr reversal on election boycott
Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Friday welcomed mercurial and popular Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's decision to participate in the upcoming national parliamentary elections, reversing his position weeks after he promised to boycott the vote.
The alliance led by Sadr, Sairoon, is the largest component of the Iraqi parliament's majority coalition and is expected to rank highly in the vote scheduled for October 10, which Kadhimi called in response to nationwide protests in 2019.
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"I welcome the Sadrist decision to return to the electoral process," Kadhimi tweeted, expressing gratitude to "all political and social leaders who made this possible."
"We call upon all boycotters to take similar steps," he stated, added that he looks forward to "a high election turnout to achieve change."
In a televised speech, Sadr said that his decision to return to the elections came after a number of political leaders, whom he did not specify, sent him a "reform pact" that would purportedly rid Iraq of endemic corruption and mismanagement.
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