BAGHDAD, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi National Dialogue Front announced on Wednesday its withdrawal from the parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 10.
It is the third political group, after Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc and the Iraqi Communist Party, that has decided to withdraw from the upcoming Iraqi elections.
"The failure to provide a safe environment for early elections and the proliferation of out-of-control weapons are all factors that confirm that no clear change will happen, and accordingly, the Front decided not to participate in the elections," the Front said in a statement.
The Front, led by Salih al-Mutlak, participated in the 2018 elections as part of the al-Wataniya (National) Coalition led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a veteran secular politician. The coalition won 21 out of the 329 seats in the parliament.
Earlier in the month, al-Sadr announced the withdrawal of his bloc from the parliamentary elections, citing "rampant corruption and unfair competition" among political parties.
About a week later, the Iraqi Communist Party also withdrew from the elections, saying the political parties are "not serious" in achieving the demands of popular protests that broke out in October 2019, and "the upcoming elections are nothing but a change of faces."
Iraq is scheduled to hold early elections on Oct. 10, in response to the anti-government protests against corruption and lack of public services.
The previous parliamentary elections in Iraq were held on May 12, 2018, and the next elections were originally scheduled to take place in 2022.
