Ahmed al-Assadi, head of al-Sanad bloc inside the Iraqi parliament

Ahmed al-Asadi, the head of the al-Sanad bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told Al Mayadeen that the challenges facing today's elections are different from past ones and that Iraq is holding early elections because no political solution has been achieved. He also emphasized the importance of the upcoming elections.

Al-Asadi went on to say that the elections are crucial for all parties, whether they support the regime or not. He further stated that despite the fact that the election date is approaching, competition has yet to intensify.

The al-Sanad bloc's electoral program includes reviving the deal with China that was established by the Adil Abdul-Mahdi administration. Furthermore, he stated that it is unclear how the Baghdad meeting would come out, but hoped that it will bring the neighboring countries together.

#يا_عراق_الخير | رئيس كتلة السند الوطني النيابية أحمد الأسدي: الانتخابات هي مبكرة بسبب انسداد الأفق السياسي وهي مهمّة ومفصلية. #العراق pic.twitter.com/GFjtluUORb
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He went on to warn that terrorist organizations are getting activated within this circumstance, intending to usher signals in all directions.

Al-Asadi said that the Baath Party wants to thwart the election process in Iraq, citing that there are members in the authority that behave as members of the Baath prohibited Party.

He added that what happened in 2018, with some questioning the election results and using electronic voting, nearly destroyed Iraq as a state. He also stated that the digital sorting is one of the flaws in the electoral legislation, which is why the al-Sanad bloc filed an appeal.

The head of the al-Sanad bloc proposed a manual count in addition to the electronic sorting, saying that “we are waiting for the judicial authority's decision on our appeal against the electronic sorting, and we have other steps that we may take.”

He stated that "we have the right to question the electronic sorting in light of the region's political developments." In terms of sorting election results, he stated that there are two options: digital sorting with manual counting or setting rules for electronic sorting. Al-Asadi ruled out the use of Iranian and Egyptian servers in electronic sorting, but not the UAE server.

He also confirmed to Al Mayadeen that the Sadrist Movement has not formally withdrawn from the elections, and "Sayed Muqtada al-Sadr has stated that he will reconsider his decision."

He went on to explain that direct and indirect connections are being formed with various political groups, noting that al-Kadhimi proposed an initiative to reach out to the parties that would not participate in the elections. We want to emphasize that we want to alleviate everyone's fears about the elections, particularly those of the youthful parties.

The leader of the al-Sanad bloc reviewed the deal with the Prime Minister, adding that the al-Fateh coalition supported the agreement made with Washington.

Concerning the Resistance, al-Asadi stated that the bloc's position on national sovereignty is consistent with that of the resistance. Furthermore, the Resistance Factions statement rejected that the Iraqi army would receive any US training.

Furthermore, he stated that the US, with all of its influence, cannot overthrow the government, but it may play a role in it if this does occur. While the military presence at the US Embassy is a violation of sovereignty, this does not mean that diplomatic missions should be attacked.

Al-Asadi noted that the Resistance factions had yet to avenge the deaths of Martyrs Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.