New Political Parties Emerge Inspired by October Protest Movement

(Photo: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)

The Iraqi government has decided to push back parliamentary elections to October 10th following a formal request by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). There has been a consistent demand for early elections among protest movements across the country, despite the absence of a unitary, centralized leadership. Some protestors and activists are now transitioning to become politicians, in an effort to translate the spirit and demands of Thawrat Tishreen into viable political platforms.

The phenomenon of groups learning how to mobilize and participate in elections has not been restricted to recent demonstrators. Indeed, it has been an ongoing process that Iraq has grappled with since the toppling of the previous dictatorship that severely limited civic engagement and mobilization outside of the Ba’ath Party. Young people today are beginning to engage with their communities through efforts like campaigns to raise awareness about key issues, including helping citizens update their biometric voting cards. These efforts come after IHEC announced on January 2 the cancellation of voter cards issued between 2013 and 2017. What this sort of campaigning and involvement indicates is an essential realization that democracy is a two-way street that relies on citizens doing their civic duty to bring about change, and that boycotting elections backfires by diminishing representation.

Aside from general mobilization towards engaging in the democratic process, activists and demonstrators have launched numerous parties and movements to run in the elections. From the nearly 400 parties that applied to compete for the 329 parliamentary seats, there are a handful claiming connections to the demonstrators including the October 25 Movement, Imtidad, al-Bayt al-Watani and al-Khayma al-Iraqiya. In fact, the October 25 Movement, led by Tallal Al-Hariri, had its launch conference on January 12. This particular movement’s interpretation of Thawrat Tishreen comes in the form of secular liberalism, espousing principles like separation of religion from politics, increased accountability in elections, tackling economic challenges and working on amending the constitution. The group stresses that they do not intend to impose themselves as an authority over the demonstrations that began in October 2019. Instead, they suggest that their platform and desire to run for office is a route to accomplishing some of the goals of the movement.  

By the same token, another group looking to take their interpretation of Thawrat Tishreen to the ballot box is Imtidad. The group is predominantly made up of Nasiriyah activists, with Alaa Al-Rikabi at the helm. Al-Rikabi had been a prominent figure in the protests in Dhi Qar province, which was arguably the central node of the demonstrations. In fact, his followers nominated him as a candidate for the interim premiership position, and he met with the U.N. representative of the secretary-general. As a result of this popularity, Al-Rikabi has been the target of various threats against his life. During Imtidad’s launch ceremony, Al-Rikabi stressed that the primary focus of the movement is on tackling corruption in the country’s political system. Although the protest-inspired campaigns of the October 25 Movement and Imtidad do not necessarily clash, they represent varying interpretations and priorities, a natural consequence of a decentralized popular movement.  

Some other existing entities have also looked to capitalize on the momentum of the October 2019 demonstrations. For example, in June 2020, political parties formed the parliamentary bloc, Iraqiyoon, in an attempt to create a legislative base for Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi, using rhetoric that hinted at alignment with Thawrat Tishreen. Delving deeper, one finds that the parties that make up the bloc, like Ammar Al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement, adopted some rhetoric from demonstrators. As an illustration, the issue of restricting arms in the hands of the state, which was a demand of the demonstrators, has been underlined by their platform.

Finally, well-established politicians have also hinted at coalitions that would promote policies inspired by the protests. Chiefly, figures like Adnan Al-Zurfi and Muhammad Shiya Al-Sudani, who were both in the race to lead the interim government, have reportedly taken on such an endeavor. The former had been nominated for the premiership while the latter was recently applauded for fighting monopolization in the telecommunications industry. Furthermore, Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi himself is said to be behind Tayyar al-Marhala, a group that completed its party registration with IHEC on January 16 and involves Tishreen influencers who have been coopted by Kadhimi’s office. 

Democratization is not an overnight process; it requires patience in order for its citizens to reap its rewards. Iraqis are not inherently incapable of embracing democratic systems and values. Despite shortcomings, Iraq has seen four peaceful transitions of power in the past 18 years, which, in light of its history of coups and dictatorships, should be applauded. Although this upcoming election might not be the one that changes the political elite, what is developing below the surface are values of engagement and commitment to democracy through protest squares and ballot boxes. Correspondingly, the magnitude of Thawrat Tishreen makes translating the movement into a distinct political platform difficult, and instead leaves room for a number of interpretations. While maintaining faith in the process is challenging, the fact that Iraqis are reclaiming their civic agency and responsibility through mobilization efforts is a crucial silver lining.