Shafaq News – Najaf
The Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), led by Muqtada al-Sadr, criticized on Wednesday Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, representative of Iraq’s top Shiite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, after a video resurfaced in which he urged citizens to take part in the elections.
In a post titled “A Loving Reproach,” Saleh Mohammed al-Iraqi — a close aide to al-Sadr known as the “Leader's Minister,” — said Karbala TV had aired a clip showing al-Karbalai warning that boycotts would not deter corruption.
“If your followers were to elect the righteous and avoid the corrupt, would that truly produce a righteous government?” he wrote on Facebook, addressing al-Karbalai. “Even if honest candidates win seats, they will later be forced into alliances with the corrupt…Have you forgotten the influence of the deep-state networks and their grip on the electoral process?”
Al-Iraqi suggested the video might date back to a previous election, noting that al-Karbalai himself “may not have voted this year,” calling that a clear message to his followers. “We had hoped — and still hope — for your leadership to help rescue Iraq from the jaws of corruption,” he added.
Al-Iraqi ended by warning that “unchecked weapons and militias have returned to divide power, and corruption once again eats away at the nation’s body.”
The PSM has stayed out of politics since 2022, when al-Sadr withdrew his 73 lawmakers from parliament in protest against what he described as entrenched corruption and political stagnation.
Iraq held its sixth general parliamentary elections on Tuesday. According to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), voter turnout exceeded 55 percent, with 10,909,637 ballots cast out of roughly 20 million registered voters.
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During election day, al-Sadr renewed his call to boycott the polls, denying claims that his movement supported any candidates as lies. In earlier remarks, he warned that “by voting for the experienced, we entrench the corrupt and strengthen their dominance.”