ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the National Shiite Movement, announced Saturday that he has disavowed 32 members of his movement and its armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, for promoting candidates in Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections.

The influential Shiite cleric announced his withdrawal from and boycott of the elections in March, denouncing the process as corrupt and warning that Iraq was “taking its last breaths” under foreign influence and entrenched political forces. 

Sadr lashed out at the purported extent of external control of Iraqi affairs and the political power wielded by militias, saying that his participation in politics "became worthless to me... To join them again would send me into a burning fire.”

Sadr’s office in Najaf released a list of the names of the expelled members, saying the individuals had engaged in electioneering despite internal directives. The cleric stressed that he would not tolerate such actions within the ranks of the movement.

“These are ignorant people exploited by the corrupt for their own purposes, then discarded like a bone,” Sadr said in a statement. “We disavow them and anyone who supports them. They lean toward corruption and disobey orders and directives, so boycott them.”

In July, Sadr cut ties with 31 members of his movement who defied his call to boycott the electoral process, making the announcement in response to a letter from the Saraya al-Salam’s Jihadi Assistant Office, which was obtained by The New Region. The letter informed him that several current members were listed as candidates.

The defectors were reportedly aligned with major political blocs, including those led by Parliament Speaker Muhsin al-Mandalawi, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, the National Wisdom (Hikma) Movement, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. 

Sadr announced his “definitive” retirement from politics in August 2022 after his attempts to form a national majority government were repeatedly blocked by the Coordination Framework.

His withdrawal from the political process allowed the Coordination Framework to form the government within months and choose Sudani as the new prime minister.

Iraq is set to hold its parliamentary elections on November 11.