In a fresh blow to Iraq's embattled political process, hard-line Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's group said on Sunday it will boycott provincial elections in October which are a key benchmark set by Washington for stabilising the country.
The decision comes two days after the powerful anti-American cleric decided to restructure his feared Mahdi Army militia and ahead of an expected military assault on his militiamen in the southern Shiite province of Maysan. "The Sadr group will not take part in the (provincial) elections as we did in the parliamentary election," said Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.
"This is the decison 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 in its 18 provinces on October 1, a key benchmark set by Washington to stabilise the war-torn 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.
It is also thought that by boycotting the elections Sadr is aiming to retain his Mahdi Army militia, which has an estimated 60,000 fighters. After launching a crackdown on the Mahdi Army in the main southern port city and oil hub of Basra in March, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to ban any political party having militias from participating in the provincial election.