The elections will take place as scheduled despite withdrawal and Boycotts, PM's advisor says

Shafaq News/ The legislative elections will be held as scheduled despite the withdrawal of some candidates and the calls for Boycotting the elections, an advisor for the Iraqi Prime Minister for Electoral Affairs, Hussein al-Hindawi, said on Thursday.

Al-Hindawi told Shafaq News Agency, "the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) asserted that the parliamentary elections will be held as scheduled on October 10."

"Boycotting and withdrawal from the elections will not affect its Date," he added.

The leader of the Sadrist movement, Moqtada al-Sadr, said on Thursday he will not take part in elections in October and withdrew his support from the government, distancing himself from the state at a time when deadly hospital fires have angered Iraqis.

One of the most influential figures in Iraq, Sadr led a political bloc that emerged as the biggest in the 2018 parliamentary election, with 54 seats in the 329 seat legislature, and his movement has big sway.

The impact of his announcement was difficult to assess. Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States who also opposes Iranian influence in Iraq, typically wields power without holding elected office. He has withdrawn from frontline politics before, without dismantling his powerful movement.

Shortly after al-Sadr statements, Deputy Parliament Speaker Hasan al-Kaabi, and the candidates of the Sadrist movement announced refraining from taking part in the elections..