Sadr's calculated decision to opt out of electoral race

Muqtada Al-Sadr’s announcement last week forbidding his followers from taking part in the forthcoming election suggests that he has calculated his chances of securing the next government are far from assured.

The leader of the Shia National Movement announced on March 27 that his faction would not participate in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, expected to take place in October this year. In a public statement shared by Salih Mohammad al-Iraqi—widely considered the online voice of Sadr—a handwritten note from the leader made clear that not only would the party refrain from running candidates, but that his supporters were also forbidden from voting.