The leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, confirmed today, Tuesday, his refusal to re-engage in political work in Iraq, strongly condemning the continued spread of "corruption" within the country. This was stated in a lengthy response to demands urging him to return to the political process, as published by al-Sadr on his platform.
Al-Sadr defended his movement, stating, "After many assumed that the reasons for the failure of successive governments in Iraq were due to what they call the Sadrist Movement, and what his presence adds to conflicts among government parties, or their claims of corruption within the movement and the infallibility of other parties among some with hateful hearts and rotten minds, it became clear to them after our withdrawal from the corrupted government that failure, stagnation, subservience, poverty, oppression of the poor, and the spread of militia terrorism continued, leaving rights aside and accommodating the occupier."
He added, "Some have come to realize that the movement is innocent of what was attributed to it by tongues of lies, hypocrisy, and deceit, and pages of sedition and sectarian pretenders to share power, in elections abandoned by the people despite the wishes of the corrupt," referring to the Shiite political parties opposed to the Sadrist Movement.
The Sadrist Movement had boycotted, under the direction of its leader Muqtada al-Sadr, the local elections held in Iraq at the end of 2023. Al-Sadr also stated, "I do not mean any specific entity; all are either corrupt or allied with the corrupt, even those who called for reform a while ago or allied with reform at some point."
On June 15, 2022, Muqtada al-Sadr announced his decision to withdraw from the political process in the country and not to participate in any upcoming elections to avoid associating with "corrupted" politicians. After the Sadrist withdrawal, the Coordination Framework, which includes all Shiite forces except the Sadrist Movement, was able to form a government in agreement with Kurdish and Sunni blocs in October 2022, headed by Muhammad Shia al-Sudani.
Al-Sadr continued, "Today, many are demanding that I rise up after they found my withdrawal excessive, which is indeed astonishing." He further stated, "Yes, they ask me for change after they abandoned me, and the migration of the reform revolution and its green tent, and they misjudged me, thinking I am a seeker of power or rule, I seek refuge from the power of corruption."
The young Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr had formed a coalition called "Rescue the Nation" with the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the "Sovereignty" coalition, which included Sunni blocs led by the politician Khamis al-Khanjar, and the ousted Speaker of Parliament Muhammad al-Halbousi after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections held in 2021. The Sadrist bloc had received the highest votes in the early parliamentary elections held in October 2021, but the efforts of its leader to form the new federal government failed due to the opposition of the Shiite Coordination Framework, which obtained a ruling from the Federal Court regarding what is known as the "blocking third" in convening the session to elect the President of the Republic, paving the way for the appointment of the Prime Minister.
