Sadr Boycotts Local Elections

by IOL (reposted)

Sun, Jun 15, 2008 7:51PM

NAJAF — Followers of young, influential Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr will boycott the October provincial polls, delivering a fresh blow to the country's embattled political process.

"The Sadr group will not take part in the elections as we did in the parliamentary election," Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, June 15.

"This is the decision as of now by Moqtada and the Sadrists. We want to avoid making the same mistakes of being part of the sectarian divisions."

Iraq is due to hold elections on October 1 in its 18 provinces, a key benchmark set by Washington to stabilize the violence-wracked country by giving more power to local provincial councils, especially for economic projects.

The Sadr group has 32 lawmakers in the 275-member parliament and the latest decision is seen as a step to consolidate its image as a nationalist and anti-American movement.

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