Sadr Urges Iraqis To Vote To Help End U.S. "Occupation"

Sadr's Mehdi Army, once a feared militia, has been largely laid down its arms but his political movement is trying to make a comeback.

"Although the holding elections under the shadow of occupation does not have legitimacy, I ask the Iraqi people to take part in the election as a political move resistance so that the ground is prepared for occupiers to leave Iraq," Sadr said on Saturday evening, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.

"I ask the Iraqi people to go to the polls Thurs elect the best people who can prepare the ground for Iraq's liberation," he said.

Sadr's movement is a key player in a Shi'ite-led coalition taking part in the national vote, and is Likely to Be Influential in Iraq's next parliament, if not in government.

It has wide support, mostly among the Shi'ite poor in the oil-producing south and Deprived urban areas such as Baghdad's Sadr City slum.Read More Story,http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6260J820100307

Sadr Urges Iraqis To Vote To Help End U.S. "Occupation"