Senior Shia cleric urges Iraqis to vote in elections
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Iraq's top Shia cleric urged voters yesterday to turn out for parliamentary elections set for 7 March. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warned that failure to participate in the election would allow others to achieve "illegitimate goals".
Mr Sistani's latest call comes at a time when Sunni leaders are threatening a boycott over the ban of more than 400 mostly Sunni candidates for alleged ties to Saddam's outlawed Ba'ath Party.
Most Sunni Arabs boycotted Iraq's first post-Saddam general election in January 2005, a move that robbed the once-dominant minority of a proportionate say in the running of the country. That, in turn, stoked a Sunni insurgency and paved the way for the Shia-Sunni bloodbath that peaked in 2006 and 2007. The country's ruling Shia establishment respect Mr Sistani's spiritual leadership but also fear that ignoring his wishes could spark a backlash from the country's majority Shias.
Mr Sistani's comments were in response to followers who sent in questions on the merits of participating in the vote, given what they see as the poor performance of lawmakers and officials.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments