Al-Hadba
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Al-Hadba
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|---|---|
 |
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| Leader | Atheel al-Nujaifi |
| Founded | 2009 |
| National affiliation |
Iraqi National Movement (2009-2012) Muttahidoon (2014–) |
| Seats in the Council of Representatives of Iraq: |
5 / 328
|
| Seats in the local governorate councils: |
19 / 440
|
| Governors: |
1 / 18
|
The al-Hadba party is an political party formed to contest the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009 in Ninawa province. It is mostly made up of Sunni Arabs. Its leading member Atheel al-Nujaifi is brother of Usama al-Najafi who is part of the Iraqi National List led by former Iraqi Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi. It has also been reported that members of the coalition have the backing of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The name "al-Hadba" is a reference to the leaning minaret of the oldest mosque in Mosul.
Hadba Party Seeks to Minimize Kurdish Influence as Mosul Faces a Wave of Assassinations Perhaps the most successful new political party in the recent provincial elections was the Hadba list in Ninevah province, which according to preliminary results received more than 48% of the vote there. Since the announcement of these results a week ago the party has maneuvered to form a political alliance which will allow it to govern the province without depending on Kurdish votes, even as Kurdish politicians seek to ensure that they still have a voice in the new provincial council. Both sides are claiming that their share of council seats will be bigger in the final election results than it was in the preliminary vote tallies, and the Hadba party has announced its efforts to form alliances with a number of smaller political parties.
Al-Hadba is an alliance of several smaller parties headed by Atheel Al-Najeefi, whose brother Usama is a member of Ayad Allawi’s National Iraqi List in the national parliament. The brothers come from a prominent Mosul family, who have been famous as businessmen and breeders of prize Arabian horses. It is named for the Hadbaa’ Minaret, a tilting structure built more than 800 years ago by Sultan Nour Al-Din, which has been likened to the leaning tower of Pisa and is considered to be a symbol of Mosul’s historical identity. The party campaigned as the voice of Mosul’s Arab majority, promising to support a strong Iraqi central government and to oppose the annexation of northern Ninevah province by the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Kurdish politicians have labeled Hadba leaders as racists and terrorist sympathizers, accusing the party of inciting hatred against Kurds in the province and opposing a fair resolution of territorial disputes. Arabs across Iraq boycotted the 2005 elections which formed the current provincial government, allowing Kurdish parties to control all levels of Ninevah’s local government even in the majority-Arab city of Mosul. The Iraqi Army and Police units which patrolled Ninevah were until recently all loyal to the Kurdistan regional government, a situation which especially generated tension in Mosul, which is home to a large number of former Army officers and known for its deep Ba'athist sympathies. The Arab population of Mosul complained of abuse at the hands of Kurdish security forces and objected to the holding of many Arab suspects in prisons deep inside the territory of Kurdistan. The Kurds complain that many of their people have been killed by militant groups such as Al-Qaeda, and say that the recently created Arab police units are infiltrated by terrorist elements.
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Wikipedia