ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Nasr (Victory) Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, announced on Friday that it will not field its own candidates in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections because of concerns over electoral fraud. The Nasr Coalition will not take part in “elections based on political money and lacking the determination to impose legal controls that prevent manipulation, vote-buying, and the exploitation of public funds, foreign money, and state resources,” it said in a statement. The coalition said it would instead back the National State Forces Alliance in the election. Abadi formed the Nasr Coalition in 2018 after splitting from the Dawa party, led by Nouri al-Maliki. Ahead of the 2021 elections, the Nasr Coalition joined forces with Ammar al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement to form the National State Forces Alliance. The alliance campaigned under the slogan “We want a country,” positioning itself as a centrist alternative amid widespread frustration over corruption and political divisions. They secured just a handful of seats. In its statement, the Nasr Coalition said that “the weight of a political entity is not tied to its electoral size that lacks proper standards, but rather to its ethics, effectiveness, and national roles,” and called for electoral reform. Iraq will hold parliamentary elections in November. Abadi served as prime minister from 2014 to 2018.
