Sdar office in Najaf reports “very good” participation in referendum

NAJAF /Iraqi News Iraqis’ turnout on the Sadrist referendum to choose Iraq’s new prime minister is “very good,” a Sadrist official said on Friday. “The participation has been very good throughout Iraq,” Mohammed al-Bahadli of the Najaf Sadr office told Iraqi News. He noted that the referendum aims at emphasizing the will of Iraqi voters. On Thursday (April 1), the movement’s Speaker, Sheikh Salah al-Obaidi, said that the Sadrists may support Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s attempt to be re-elected for a second term in office. “If Maliki gets more than 50 percent of votes in the referendum, it seems that we may support him,” Obaidi told Iraqi News. He noted that the movement will support any other nominee who is able to get the same number of votes. The Sadrist Movement is running a referendum among Sadrists on Friday and Saturday (April 2 and 3, 2010) to select the movement’s candidate for the position of Iraq’s Prime Minister. The referendum introduces five names to voters: Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iyad Allawi, Adil Abdulmahdi, Jaafar Mohammed al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki. The referendum sheet offers a sixth option for voters where they can propose another name of their choosing. MH (S)/AmR 2