Al-Sadr's return is soon: senior leader suggests
Shafaq News/ A senior leader in the Shiite National Movement, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, revealed on Saturday a political strategy being adopted ahead of the movement's official return to political activity.
The leader, speaking to Shafaq News Agency on condition of anonymity, said, "The political committee of the Shiite National Movement held meetings over the past two days to organize a political comeback and prepare the electoral machinery for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The movement aims to participate in the next elections."
The leader added that "al-Sadr does not want to announce a political return at this time. He is focused on restructuring the internal political and electoral framework of the Shiite National Movement. The official political return will be made through a public announcement early next year, highlighting the movement's future political objectives."
On June 15, 2022, Muqtada al-Sadr announced his withdrawal from the political process and his decision not to participate in any future elections to avoid association with "corrupt" politicians.
Following this decision, the Sadrist movement boycotted the local elections held in Iraq at the end of 2023.
After the Sadrists' withdrawal, the Coordination Framework, which includes all Shiite factions backed by Iran, managed to form a government in October 2022, in agreement with Kurdish and Sunni blocs, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
After the 2021 parliamentary elections, Muqtada al-Sadr had formed an alliance called "Saving the Homeland" with the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sunni "Sovereignty" coalition led by Khamis al-Khanjar and former Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
The Sadrist bloc had won the most seats in the early parliamentary elections held in October 2021. However, efforts by the movement's leader to form a new federal government were thwarted by the Coordination Framework, which obtained a Federal Court ruling requiring a two-thirds quorum to hold the session for electing the President, a prerequisite for naming the Prime Minister.
