Well-informed sources revealed that the head of the Sadr movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, informed senior religious leaders in Najaf of “his readiness to go back on his decision to boycott the elections, if two basic conditions are fulfilled.”
Over the past two days, Iraqi political circles circulated information that Sadr would soon announce his return to the electoral race, without clear assurances from the leaders of the Sadr movement, who preferred to convey conflicting hints about their position on the elections.
Sadr recently appeared in a video, leaving the house of the religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, to attend the Muharram mourning council, raising a lot of political speculation about his presence there.
However, a high-ranking source from Najaf told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sadr did not meet with Sistani, but exchanged “serious conversations” with senior figures very close to the religious authority.
Sources confirmed that a meeting took place between the two sides, noting that Sadr “was talking briefly with his interlocutors”, and was responding to questions about his position on the elections.
According to the sources, Sadr “expressed his willingness to participate in the elections,” setting two conditions that must be met before announcing his decision.
The first condition is to postpone the elections so his movement would have enough time to prepare for the race and ensure fairness with the rest of the competing blocs, which have started their campaigns weeks ago.
However, the second condition that Sadr reportedly raised during the meeting might provoke controversy at the internal and regional levels. The sources said that the leader of the Sadr movement stipulated that Sistani issues a statement, in which he would condemn the uncontrolled arms groups in Iraq, which threaten the security of the elections.
According to the sources, Sadr believes that his rivals from the armed factions “can use violence to change the political balance of the Shiites, in favor of groups that undermine stability.”
Sadr is aware of the difficulty of holding the elections without his participation. He might take advantage of this maneuver to postpone the elections, change the rules of the political game, and relieve the tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s government, whose opponents want to end his term through the October elections.
