The Alliance Towards Reforms or Marching Towards Reform ( ar, تحالف سائرون للإصلاح), also known by its Arabic short form Saairun ( ar, سائرون, ', ), is an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

electoral coalition An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. Ea ...

formed to gain political control in the 2018 general election. The main components are the

Shi’a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

Islamist Sadrist Integrity Party, the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Iraqi Communist Party The Iraqi Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي العراقي '; ku, Partiya Komunista Iraqê حزبی شیوعی عێراق) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the ...

, the Youth Movement for Change Party, the Party of Progress and Reform and the Iraqi Republican Group and the State of Justice Party. The alliance won 54 seats, more than any other coalition in the election. In the previous election, the Sadrists (a Shia movement emerging in the 1990s to oppose President

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

) had run as the Al-Ahrar Bloc and won 34 seats. They initially supported the al Abadi government, with Baha al-Araji serving as one of the Deputy Prime Ministers. However, they later withdrew this stance, organizing protests against government corruption and sectarianism. On 30 April 2016, supporters of the Alliance Towards Reforms occupied the Council of Representatives in protest.

Opposition

During a visit to Iran three months before the election, senior

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian politician

Ali Akbar Velayati Ali Akbar Velayati ( fa, علی‌اکبر ولایتی ; born 24 June 1945, Tehran) is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahi ...

declared: "We will not allow liberals and communists to govern Iraq," in reference to the Alliance. This comment was criticized by Iraqi secular MP's as interference in the internal affairs of Iraq.

2018 elections

The

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general elect ...

saw significant gains for the Alliance Towards Reforms. They won 17 seats in Baghdad, 6 seats in Dhi Qar, 5 in Maysan and Basra, 4 in Najaf and Babil, 3 in Karbala, Qadissiya and Wasit, and 2 seats in Muthanna and Diyala. A

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

woman representing the Alliance, Suhad al-Khateeb, was elected in the

to represent the city of

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

which was deemed to be one of the most religious and conservative cities in Iraq. Khateeb, who is a teacher and an

anti-poverty Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...

and

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, said upon her victory: "We, the Communist party, have a long history of honesty - we were not agents for foreign occupations. We want social justice, citizenship, and are against sectarianism. This is also what Iraqis want."

Election results

References

{{Iraqi political parties Iraqi Communist Party Political party alliances in Iraq 2018 establishments in Iraq Political parties established in 2018