ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Political forces that have risen up out of Iraq’s protest movement are looking to form a political alliance ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections, causing controversy and division among the protest movement.
Nine new parties met on Tuesday in Babil Governorate, central Iraq, in order to “bridge the gap” in viewpoints, and form a coalition to represent the protest movement in the Iraqi parliament, according to Alaa al-Rikabi, the head of the Emtidad movement, one of the groups formed from the October [Tishreen] movement.
According to activists at the meeting, a veto has been placed on groups deemed too close to the political establishment, including the “awareness movement” led by Salah al-Oraibi, the Iraqi Communist Party, the 25 October movement and the al-Marhala party.
"These movements are part of the previous or current governments,” activist Haidar al-Marwani told Rudaw English on Thursday.
Oraibi is the former office director of cleric Ammar al-Hakim, and was Hakim’s second-in-command in the al-Hikma movement. Although he resigned following the outbreak of protests in October 2019, many were left unimpressed.
As for the al-Marhala Party, its leaders are advisers to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is also rejected by many protesters.
The protests, which have been brutally suppressed by members of the security forces and Iran-backed militias, were driven by anger at the political establishment, as well as corruption and economic woes. Kadhimi was sworn-in as PM in May, the third candidate to be assigned the role after Adil Abdul-Madhi resigned in late November.
In the 2018 elections, the Iraqi Communist Party allied with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who had been a vocal supporter of reform and anti-corruption campaigns until his militia, the Saraya al-Salam [Peace Brigades], became involved in suppressing the protests.
Sadr is also the head of the Mahdi Army militia, accused of kidnapping and murdering Sunnis during sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007.
“Our concern is that the Communist Party has allied with the Sadrist movement in the previous elections,” Marwani said.
A member of the Iraqi Communist Party’s political bureau, Jassem al-Hilfi, told Rudaw English on Thursday that the Communist Party stands with uniting civil-democratic forces to form an alliance that stands in the way of "corruption."
"The Communist Party alliance with the Sadrists did not last for long, as the two MPs representing the party in parliament submitted their resignations as soon as the protests began," Hilfi said.
Writer and journalist Salih al-Hamdani tweeted that any meeting between the Tishreen forces is a step in the right direction.
Journalist Ali al-Mikdam, however, criticized the absence of women at the meeting.
“Any coalition that emanates from the October Revolution, regardless of whether it includes social or political figures, will be doomed to failure without the presence of young women whom we all should be thankful for making Tishreen great,” Mikdam said.
Many doubt the protesters ability to compete in the upcoming elections in October, amid the constant threat of backed Iranian militias in Iraq, and the assassinations, threats and kidnappings activists and protesters are exposed to by those militias.
At least 600 people have been killed across Iraq and more than 18,000 injured since the protests began, according to figures released by Amnesty International last year.
