Alliance towards Reforms
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Alliance towards Reforms
Forward سائرون (Saairun) |
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|---|---|
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| Leader | Hassan Akwly (Political leader) Muqtada al-Sadr (Spiritual leader) |
| Founded | 25 January 2018 |
| Ideology |
Shia interests Iraqi nationalism Anti-corruption Catch-all Syncretic |
| Political position |
Big tent Factions: Left-wing (Iraqi Communist Party) Islamism (Sadrists) |
| Council of Representatives |
54 / 329
|
| Seats in the Governorate Councils |
0 / 440
|
| Governors |
0 / 18
|
The Alliance towards Reforms, or Marching Towards Reform, also known by its Arabic short form Saairun (Arabic: سائرون, Saairun, literally "Forward",) is an Iraqi electoral coalition formed to pursue political control in the 2018 general election. The main components are the Shi’i Islamist Sadrist Integrity Party and the secular Iraqi Communist Party, as well as the "Youth Movement for Change Party, the Party of Progress and Reform, the Iraqi Republican Group, and the State of Justice Party". The alliance garnered 54 seats, more than any other electoral coalition.
In the previous election, the Sadrists (a Shia movement emerging in the 1990's to oppose President Sadaam Hussein) 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. At one point they stormed the Council of Representatives itself in protest.
Before the election, a senior Iranian politician, Ali Akbar Velayati, visited Iraq and made comments that were interpreted as against an Alliance: "We will not allow liberals and communists to govern Iraq", he said—comments that were criticised by Iraqi secular MP's as interference in internal affairs of Iraq.
The 2018 elections saw significant gains for the Alliance towards Reforms. A communist woman representing the Alliance, Suhad al-Khateeb, was elected in the 2018 elections to represent the city of Najaf which was deemed to be one of the most religious and conservative cities in Iraq. Khateeb, who is a teacher and an anti-poverty- and women's rights-activist, 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."
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