Al-Maliki's bloc rejects al-Sadr's call to boycott local elections

Shafaq News/ A member of Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc on Monday dismissed calls by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to boycott the upcoming local election scheduled for December as "ineffective."

"The boycott of a part of any component does not affect the legitimacy of the elections," said Saad al-Muttalibi, a senior figure in the bloc. "the Shiite component will participate in the electoral process, both as candidates and voters. Nothing would undermine the legitimacy of the election."

The Iraqi constitution does not specify a minimum turnout threshold for elections to be considered legitimate.

" Therefore, any turnout, even very low, would be considered a constitutional and legitimate election," he said.

Al-Sadr, who has millions of followers, on Monday called on his supporters to boycott the election scheduled for later this year. He said that the move would undermine the election's legitimacy domestically and internationally.