Iraq’s Sadr supporters chant ‘Iran is out’ while celebrating electoral victory

Following reports that Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s list Sairoon (On the Move) is the early front-runner in the national elections, Sadr’s supporters gathered in Tahrir Square in Baghdad to celebrate and chanted against Iran and corruption and in support of the independence of the Iraqi decision.

According to videos published on social media networks and by local media outlets, Sadr’s supporters chanted: “Iran is out, Baghdad remains free.”

An alliance of candidates with close ties to Iraq’s powerful Shiite paramilitary groups are in a close second while Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has performed poorly across majority Shiite provinces that should have been his base of support.

The election was marked by record low turnout. It was the first since Iraq declared victory over the ISIS group and the fourth since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.