Analyst highlighted role of Grand Shia cleric 'Ayatollah Sistani' in Iraq’s politics

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iraqi political analyst, Haidar al-Barjanji, said the senior cleric’s call for participation in the parliamentary elections showed that there was a big threat looming.

He said when Ayatollah Sistani invited all people to go to the polls, he was aware of what was going to happen after the elections and that the outcomes of the polls would be under threat.

Al-Barzanji described the measures and statements of the senior cleric as very important and necessary, saying that Ayatollah Sistani is closely monitoring the developments in Iraq and knows that if politicians fail to reach consensus, the country would be moving towards conflicts and collapse, which is what the United States wants.

Asked about the results of the elections, he said there is clear evidence of election fraud and a wide range of Iraqi people, including Kurds, Shias, and Sunnis have protested against the outcome.

The analyst said evidence shows there have been foreign interference and cyber attacks in the elections.

“We have an internet system that can be easily targeted by hackers,” he said, adding that political parties have presented proof of cyber attacks on elections in Iraq.

He regretted that the Iraqi electoral commission has ignored the evidence.

The Iraqi people voted in their country’s parliamentary elections on October 10 to decide the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who will, in turn, elect the president and confirm the prime minister.

The electoral commission said the turnout was 41%, a little lower than the total turnout in the last election in 2018, which was 44.5%.

At least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates competed for the Iraqi parliament’s 329 seats.

Elsewhere in the interview, Al-Barzanji was asked about a recent attack targeting the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The analyst said the attack is a condemned move that violated Iraq’s sovereignty.

He said the attack was carried out by those who want to lead Iraq to chaos and instability.

Al-Kadhimi was subjected to a failed assassination attempt with a booby-trapped drone earlier this month.

No group claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt, during which several members of the premier’s personal protection team were injured.

The attack took place amid tensions over the general elections that have been mired with accusations of irregularities in Iraq and the ensuing protests that drew thousands of Iraqis to streets to challenge the results of the vote.




/129