Senior Iraqi Cleric Not to Back Certain Candidate in Elections
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The senior Iraqi Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Sistani, denied political leanings towards any specific candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Arab country, spokesman for a political party said.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Sunday, Sheikh Salah al-Ubaidi, the spokesperson for al-Sadr political movement, expressed the impartiality of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
According to Ubaidi, Ayatollah Sistani has underlined that “he will not support any specific candidate” and has only called for “free and transparent elections.”
The prominent Iraqi cleric has reportedly made the comments in a Sunday meeting with the renowned political figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, in Iraq.
The Arab country’s parliamentary elections are slated for April 30. The polls will elect the 328 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi president and prime minister.
Meanwhile, campaigning has begun for the upcoming elections, with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seeking a third consecutive term in office.
However, no single bloc is expected to win a majority of the seats in the Council of Representatives.
