Daa’i Party withdraws from Iraqi local elections following leader's assassination
Shafaq News / The Daa’i Party declared its withdrawal from participating in the upcoming elections for provincial councils scheduled for the following Monday. This decision came in the wake of the assassination of the party's founder, Fadhel Al-Marsoumi Al-Husseini, who was fatally attacked in Baghdad last week.
In their statement, the party expressed discontent toward the government's lack of immediate condemnation or official statements regarding the heinous and cowardly act. Additionally, they noted the absence of any communication channels established by the authorities to update party leadership on the ongoing investigation, which they learned about through media reports allegedly initiated by the Ministry of Interior in a tepid manner that does not match the gravity of the event.
The party urged the judiciary at all levels to conduct a fair and swift investigation, publicly disclose the perpetrators, unravel the circumstances of the crime, and hold the accountable parties responsible. They emphasized the threat such crimes pose to societal peace, the legitimacy of the democratic system, and the integrity of the ongoing election process. Particularly concerning was the timing of the incident as it occurred close to the upcoming local elections in which the Daa’i Party, led by the late Al-Marsoumi, was actively participating.
The party criticized the fragile security situation in the country and the intensification of electoral conflicts, which had reached the point of defaming competitors both in the media and ethically. Recently, this tension escalated to the alarming level of physical elimination, a perilous development unprecedented in Iraq's history. Moreover, the party highlighted concerns about the unknown origins of political finances infiltrating the election process, casting a shadow over its legitimacy and draining its actual democratic essence, intended to lay the foundation for constructing a civil state that upholds freedoms and safeguards dignities.
Consequently, the Daa’i Party decided to "withdraw from participating in the upcoming elections for provincial councils, scheduled for the 18th of December, while maintaining its position as part of the political plurality in the country."
A security source confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that the religious leader assassinated in Baghdad last Thursday was the leader of the Daa’i Party, an Islamic movement advocating for the preparation for the anticipated appearance of the Twelfth Imam, revered by Shia Muslims.
