ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has said he welcomes international supervision of Iraq’s October parliamentary elections, provided that other countries do not interfere in Iraqi internal affairs, he said in a Wednesday press conference reported by state media.
"We welcome international supervision of the elections, provided that other countries, in the region and internationally, do not interfere in the affairs of Iraq," Sadr said, adding "As Iraqis, we are able to manage the elections on our own."
The Sadrist movement has been participating in the political process since 2005 and has formed several coalitions, including the al-Ahrar bloc, and then Sairoon bloc, which won the largest number of votes in the 2018 elections.
Sadr has been a vocal supporter of reform and anti-corruption campaigns for years. When anti-government protests broke out in October 2019, he sent members of his militia forces, the Peace Brigades to protect the demonstrators. However, Sadr changed his position and by February 2020, his militias were involved in violence against protests.
He has also called for no further delays to the elections, planned for June and then moved to October.
Sadr also stressed the necessity of creating a "democratic atmosphere" for the success of early elections, and the necessity of competition through dialogue and peaceful means.
"I advise the United Nations to adopt a comprehensive and meaningful dialogue between the parties in Iraq," Sadr said, adding, "We will not allow the corrupt to occupy the position of prime minister."
The United Nations has previously confirmed its supervisory role in the upcoming elections. France and Germany have donated millions to UNAMI for its work on the elections.
"Observation is the mildest form of international presence in Iraq to see what is happening on election day. This is exactly what the Iraqi government asked the Security Council," UNAMI head Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a press conference late January.
"It is just an additional safeguard to protect the integrity of the electoral process, nothing specific to Iraq, but an important one to keep weapons and money from influencing the election outcome," she added.
Early elections were one of the demands of protests that began in October 2019 across central and southern Iraq. Prime Minister Mustafa al- Kadhimi asked Iraq’s electoral commission in November to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the elections will be held as scheduled, and should “continuously work to guarantee a successful election.”
Iraqi President Barham Salih in November officially signed the electoral reforms into law, dividing provinces into smaller voting constituencies for the 2021 election.
Early elections have wide support among the political parties. All parties in parliament agree that early elections should be held this year, Sabah Talubi, a Sairoon MP told state media on January 8.
Sadr's speech came two days after he issued orders to his Peace Brigades militia forces to be deployed in droves to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala, after receiving information about "threats" to holy sites. Videos on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) Telegram channels showed masked and armed men setting up security checkpoints to search cars in the capital.
The claim follows protests in Najaf on Friday, where activists held a ceremony to mark the one year anniversary of a massacre in Najaf's Sadrayn Square, where Sadr supporters stormed an anti-government protest camp. The activists chanted "Muqtada is the enemy of Allah."
"Some said that what happened was against the state prestige, and if I had doubted that what the Peace Brigades forces did was against the state prestige, I would not have allowed it," Sadr said on Wednesday.
He also said that security forces are in a "state of collapse" and that he will not stay silent about "violations" against army and police forces, stressing that he is with protests against corruption, provided that they are "peaceful without burning, blocking roads or attacking state institutions.”
