PMU Officials Stress Iraqis’ Massive Participation in Upcoming Elections

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Officials of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) called for the country’s people to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Referring to a recent statement by prominent Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, they said people’s massive participation in the polls will create a historic event for Iraq.

“We urge the people to rush to the polls just as they rushed to the fronts of fighting the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group,” Hadi Al-Ameri, head of the Badr Organization, which is affiliated to the PMU said on Tuesday.

He expressed hope that people will respond to the senior cleric’s call and go to the polls in large numbers.

In a statement last week, Ayatollah Sistani called for high turnout in the upcoming parliamentary elections, stressing that wide participation in the vote remains the safest way to a brighter future for the Arab country.

The religious authority “encourages everyone to participate consciously and responsibly in the upcoming elections,” although it is not without some shortcomings, said the statement, published on the official website of the top cleric on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, head of Asaib Ahl al-Haqq (League of the Righteous) group, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, said this year’s elections are the scene of confrontation and rivalry between two fronts: the front of unity and Iraq’s sovereignty and the front that wants continuation of presence of the US (in Iraq).

Also, the secretary general of Iraq’s Al-Nujaba movement reiterated widespread participation in elections.

According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-‎Nujaba in Iran‎, Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, described the statements issued at the ballot box on the eve of Iraq’s parliamentary elections as “sensitive and crucial.”

He emphasized the principles and foundations of the al-Nujaba movement and proved the movement’s approach of not nominating candidates directly or indirectly and noted, “We want the citizens to remain with our nation and share their suffering and also be the true voices of the people.”

Referring to his movement’s criticisms of the constitution and the political system established by the occupiers, he said, “But we consider the widespread participation of the people in the elections important so that an effort can be made towards real change through the selection of the most competent people.”

The secretary-general of al-Nujaba considered it necessary to have a competent political system that serves the nation to protect the sovereignty of the country and to achieve freedom and added, “Our efforts to place the country’s political system in the hands of experts who put the public interest before their own interests are in line with this and this goal can only be achieved with the widespread participation of the Iraqi people in the elections.”

Sheikh al-Kaabi called on the competent movements and vigilant civil activists, who understand the scope of the challenge well and are aware of the plans of the occupying enemy and its mercenaries, to encourage the people to participate as much as possible.

At the end of his statement, he established fifteen indicators and standards for competent candidates as follows:

A competent candidate

1. must be known for his honesty and purity so that he will abide by his oath after victory.
2. must commit to electoral sovereignty in his election promises and the expulsion of all occupying forces from our free and dear country.
3. must have a clear position on foreign colonial companies that plunder the country and its oil and national wealth for a meagre price.
4. must strive in his words and deeds to liberate the country from the tyrannical and profiteering domination of the International Monetary Fund, to prevent the erosion of the country’s economy and to confront the project of borrowing from this bank with national determination because this project was designed by a foreign order to capture Iraq and place it under the yoke of foreigners.
5. must work for the annulment of all the treaties signed by some Iraqi governments at the behest of the United States, which have destroyed the wealth of Iraq and surrendered it to countries that serve arrogant and colonial purposes and which have brought terrorism and carnage to our nation.
6. must stand up to countries seeking to destabilize Iraq and destroy its economy, including projects by the United Arab Emirates and Wahhabi Saudi Arabia.
7. must advocate for the law which seeks to criminalize the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime such that those who seek such actions will be considered traitors and prosecuted and fugitives will be prosecuted and severe punishment will be imposed on them – which is the death penalty.
8. must end the ridiculous existence of what is falsely called an “embassy,” ​​which, of course, is in fact an American military base in the Green Zone of Baghdad and acts to interfere in the internal and external affairs of the country.
9. must stand up to all those who acted against the Popular Mobilization Forces and pursued dubious goals to weaken Iraq and adhere to the guidance of the religious authority in order not to attack this honorable organization, which is a strong shield for the security of Iraq.
10. must end the United States’ control of national wealth and the sale of Iraq’s oil by the United States, receiving oil money and depositing it in American banks, which puts Iraq under the control of the evil president of the United States.
11. must end the case of advisers and handlers whose failures and conspiracies have been proven in Iraq and Afghanistan and it has become clear to everyone that their only mission is sabotage.
12. must oppose the greed of the telecommunication companies that openly rob Iraqi citizens and instead, establish rules to serve the Iraqi people. He must also strive to establish national telecommunications companies that work realistically to improve telecommunications and Internet services and to enact legislation to block anti-religious, anti-moral, anti-values websites targeting the authentic society of Iraq and its social fabric.
13. must commit to continuous monitoring and evaluation of all government agencies to stop the exploitation of the people and end corruption and not give in to temptations and threats that hinder the achievement of these goals.
14. must pledge to be the voice of his governorate and constituency as a servant of the nation and a defender of their rights during his term of office and to work for the development of his governorate. The candidate must also demand that the relevant institutions carry out industrial projects, the construction of schools and bridges, give attention to roads, the transformation of educational institutions, changing the curriculum in a way that is in line with the scientific progress and values of Iraqi society, and pay attention to the activities and expansion of medical centers and the development of projects and service centers.
15. must take a firm stand against the project to divide Iraq, which is aimed at weakening the country and turning it into a scene of ethnic and tribal conflict.

 4002633