Shafaq News/ Iraq's firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called on his supporters to boycott, but never attack, the upcoming local elections, which he described as "corrupt".

In a post on the social media platform Ax, al-Sadr said that his followers should "purify themselves from the filth of their corruption and their electoral play."

"They are corrupt people," he said. "And God does not love corruption. So purify yourselves and do not attack their corrupt elections."

The elections, scheduled for Monday, December 18, will be held in all of Iraq's governorates except the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.