Abadi leads the Victory (Nasr) Coalition. Addressing supporters in Diwaniyah province, he had high praise for the Iraqi armed forces, including the Peshmerga, and his cabinet who defeated ISIS, Iraq’s “first victory.”
“Today, Iraq is stronger than before… Iraq will stay strong, united and victorious,” he told the crowd.
He promised help to the families of soldiers who died in the war and victims of the conflict, including continuing to give land to them, but noted the program was temporarily suspended during the election campaign.
“We have prohibited distribution of lands during the election campaign so that it cannot be exploited,” Abadi explained, saying the program would resume after the vote. “This is least we can do for them.”
Iraq needs an estimated $100 billion to rebuild after the war with ISIS. Abadi has sought international support and private investment to help as the country struggles to recover from the devastation wreaked by ISIS and the ongoing conflict against the group.
Abadi also pledged to stamp out corruption – a scourge he has compared to the threat of extremism.
The “fate of corrupt people will be like the fate of ISIS,” he warned. “We have declared war on corruption and defeated it… we will not have mercy on corrupt people.”
Iraq is among the most corrupt nations in the world, coming 169 out of 180 countries ranked by Transparency International.
