ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday expelled 31 members from his National Shiite Movement - formerly the Sadrist Movement - and its affiliated armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, for defying his orders and joining electoral lists ahead of the country’s November 11 parliamentary elections. The move comes amid Sadr’s continued boycott of the vote. In a statement accompanying the list of expelled individuals, Sadr wrote: “I distance myself from all of them, just as they have distanced themselves from us,” referring to candidates from the movement and brigades who had registered despite his directive to abstain. Many of those removed were affiliated with rival political factions within the Shiite-led Coordination Framework, as well as electoral lists backed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and Deputy Parliament Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi. Since late March, Sadr has firmly reiterated his refusal to participate in the 2025 legislative elections, denouncing the process as deeply compromised by “corruption.” Responding in writing to a supporter’s question about the movement’s electoral role in the vote, the cleric declared, “So long as corruption is prevalent, I will not participate in a flawed electoral process.” More recently, in early July, Sadr reaffirmed his stance, calling for sweeping reforms, including disarmament of armed groups, the restoration of state authority and accountability for corruption. Of note, in Iraq’s last elections in October 2021, Sadr’s bloc won a plurality, securing 73 of 329 parliamentary seats. However, a prolonged deadlock with the Coordination Framework over forming a government led Sadr to withdraw his lawmakers from parliament, effectively ending his bloc’s formal political engagement.
