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Iraq
Iraqis demonstrate in Baghdad on May 25, 2021, condemning impunity in the assassinations of protesters. File photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A group of about 40 fledgling parties born out of Iraq's October 2019 (Tishreen) protest movement announced on Saturday the formation of a political bloc, the Iraqi Opposition Forces, ahead of next month's elections, hoping to create a united front of protest parties who aim to bring radical change to Iraqi politics.
They called for "providing justice among all the political forces competing in the elections, pressuring the government to be serious in creating a fair electoral environment under the supervision of the United Nations, holding the killers of the October demonstrators accountable, revealing the fate of the disappeared and unjustly detained, as well as limiting weapons to the hands of the government," according to a statement from spokesperson Basim al-Sheikh.
Nearly two years ago, large angry protests broke out in central and southern Iraq, permeating most of the Shiite-dominated provinces. The demonstrations lasted several months and were met with violence and repression from state forces and militias backed by Iran that left at least 600 dead and thousands wounded.
The protests forced the resignation of the prime minister, reforms to the electoral law, and the early elections that are taking place a year ahead of schedule. Tishreen youth also began organizing themselves into political parties to contest the elections and compete with political Islam parties that have dominated Iraqi politics for more than 17 years.
Before 2003, concepts of freedom of expression, democracy, and the right to demonstrate against the government were not common in the Iraqi mindset. Authority was concentrated in the hands of the monarchy after the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1936, and in a single party under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime.
The Iraqi protest movement began in 2011 with what was known as the February Youth Movement. It has gone through periods of ups and downs over the past decade and was relatively limited until it returned with power and uncharacteristically to the fore with the Tishreen protests.
The most prominent of the Tishreen parties is the National House, al-Bait al-Watani in Arabic, which was formed under the leadership of a group of leading protesters in Nasiriyah. On Saturday, the party held its founding conference, electing Hussein al-Ghurabi as general secretary.
Other parties that emerged from the Tishreen movement are the Iraqi Union for Labor and Rights, Coming To Get My Rights, Social Democratic Movement, Tishreen Front, and Imtidad.
The new parties say their goal is to change the political reality in Iraq, ending the power of undemocratic parties that have distorted the system by using their influence to achieve financial and political gains. But there are very few Tishreen parties participating in the elections. One is Imtidad, led by Alaa al-Rikabi, a protest leader from Nasiriyah.
Others plan to achieve their goals through means other than the ballot box.
A member of the National House, Muhtada Abu al-Joud, told Rudaw English on Sunday that his party had announced its complete boycott of the elections and had begun work on a project to form a national opposition front.
"The opposition front does not mean that we will be part of the parliament. We do not intend to enter the political arena, but we will form a front to pressure the government through various tools, including political, legal, and international [means]," Joud said.
Not contesting the elections won't work, according to political analyst Iyad al-Anbar. "The opposition front may be an attempt to correct the political path, but it will not be effective as long as it is outside the authority and the center of decision-making," he told Rudaw English on Sunday.
"Boycotting the elections by the Tishreen parties will not change reality, but will only make the current forces compete with each other, and therefore we will not witness a change in the political scene. This will keep the traditional forces in place. It seems that the new parties are not ready for electoral competition," Anbar added.
They called for "providing justice among all the political forces competing in the elections, pressuring the government to be serious in creating a fair electoral environment under the supervision of the United Nations, holding the killers of the October demonstrators accountable, revealing the fate of the disappeared and unjustly detained, as well as limiting weapons to the hands of the government," according to a statement from spokesperson Basim al-Sheikh.
Nearly two years ago, large angry protests broke out in central and southern Iraq, permeating most of the Shiite-dominated provinces. The demonstrations lasted several months and were met with violence and repression from state forces and militias backed by Iran that left at least 600 dead and thousands wounded.
The protests forced the resignation of the prime minister, reforms to the electoral law, and the early elections that are taking place a year ahead of schedule. Tishreen youth also began organizing themselves into political parties to contest the elections and compete with political Islam parties that have dominated Iraqi politics for more than 17 years.
Before 2003, concepts of freedom of expression, democracy, and the right to demonstrate against the government were not common in the Iraqi mindset. Authority was concentrated in the hands of the monarchy after the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1936, and in a single party under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime.
The Iraqi protest movement began in 2011 with what was known as the February Youth Movement. It has gone through periods of ups and downs over the past decade and was relatively limited until it returned with power and uncharacteristically to the fore with the Tishreen protests.
The most prominent of the Tishreen parties is the National House, al-Bait al-Watani in Arabic, which was formed under the leadership of a group of leading protesters in Nasiriyah. On Saturday, the party held its founding conference, electing Hussein al-Ghurabi as general secretary.
Other parties that emerged from the Tishreen movement are the Iraqi Union for Labor and Rights, Coming To Get My Rights, Social Democratic Movement, Tishreen Front, and Imtidad.
The new parties say their goal is to change the political reality in Iraq, ending the power of undemocratic parties that have distorted the system by using their influence to achieve financial and political gains. But there are very few Tishreen parties participating in the elections. One is Imtidad, led by Alaa al-Rikabi, a protest leader from Nasiriyah.
Others plan to achieve their goals through means other than the ballot box.
A member of the National House, Muhtada Abu al-Joud, told Rudaw English on Sunday that his party had announced its complete boycott of the elections and had begun work on a project to form a national opposition front.
"The opposition front does not mean that we will be part of the parliament. We do not intend to enter the political arena, but we will form a front to pressure the government through various tools, including political, legal, and international [means]," Joud said.
Not contesting the elections won't work, according to political analyst Iyad al-Anbar. "The opposition front may be an attempt to correct the political path, but it will not be effective as long as it is outside the authority and the center of decision-making," he told Rudaw English on Sunday.
"Boycotting the elections by the Tishreen parties will not change reality, but will only make the current forces compete with each other, and therefore we will not witness a change in the political scene. This will keep the traditional forces in place. It seems that the new parties are not ready for electoral competition," Anbar added.
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