Iraq will be deeply marked by the recent weeks of demonstrations demanding sweeping reforms, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani said on Friday, in some of his strongest remarks yet on the protest movement.
In his weekly sermon delivered by a representative in Karbala, the country’s top Shiite cleric piled pressure on authorities to enact sweeping reforms in response to the deadly rallies, AFP reports.
“If those in power think that they can evade the benefits of real reform by stalling and procrastination, they are delusional,” Sistani said. “What comes after these protests will not be the same as before.”
Sistani also called for a new election law that would restore public confidence in the system and give voters the opportunity to bring “new faces” to power, according to Reuters.