The deadline for registering parties and coalitions closed on 28 October. The Electoral Commission announced that 228 lists had been registered, including 21 coalitions. The emerging Iraqi political scene was marked by groups of established parties running on joint lists, often grouped on sectarian or ethnic grounds. These lists are not necessarily stable, as the parties sharing a list may be past or present rivals; the situation will be even more complicated for the December 2005 election because parties can form different alliances in different governorates. The landscape is currently fluid; what follows is a list of some of the more important parties and coalitions, with a focus on alliances that have shifted since the January 2005 election.
United Iraqi Alliance (#555) This coalition, dominated by Shi'ite parties, was formed to contest the January 2005 election with the blessing of
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Shi'ite
cleric based in Iraq. It won the most votes in that election and became the senior partner in the coalition government that ran Iraq for most of 2005. The UIA's main components were: • The
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) led by
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and the transitional
Deputy President Adel Abdul Mahdi • The
Islamic Dawa Party led by transitional
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari • The
Iraqi National Congress of
Ahmed Chalabi • The
Islamic Virtue Party, which includes the Governor of
Basra, Mohammed al-Waili •
Iraqi Hezbollah, led by former
Iraqi Governing Council member Sheikh
Abdel-Karim Mahoud al-Mohammedawi, who led the rebellion by the
Marsh Arabs against
Saddam Hussein. • A number of independent politicians, including some supporters of
Moqtada al-Sadr (although other Sadr supporters formed the
National Independent Cadres and Elites party). In advance of the
December 2005 elections,
Moqtada al-Sadr's party chose to join the Alliance. However, the
Iraqi National Congress and Iraqi Hezbollah left the Alliance to form their own lists. In a blow to the Alliance,
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced that he would not back any particular party for the election; he merely encouraged people to vote "according to their beliefs." He is said to have been disappointed with the performance of the transitional government. It was initially reported before the election that the UIA seats would be split between the parties as follows: •
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) - 30 places •
Moqtada al-Sadr's party - 30 places •
Islamic Dawa Party - 29 places •
Islamic Virtue Party - 14 places • others - 15 places Analysis of the seat allocation after the elections showed that the 109 district seats and 19 compensatory seats won by the UIA were split as follows: •
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Badr - 21 + 15 •
Moqtada al-Sadr's party - 25 + 3 •
Islamic Virtue Party - 14 + 1 •
Islamic Dawa Party - 13 •
Islamic Dawa Party - Iraq Organisation - 12 • independents and others - 24
The Kurdistan Alliance (#730) This Kurdish-dominated coalition was formed for the January 2005 election by the two main Kurdish parties—the
Kurdistan Democratic Party of
Kurdistan Region President
Masoud Barzani and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan of the transitional
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani—plus some other smaller parties. The DPAK formed a coalition government with the UIA in the wake of the January 2005 elections. This coalition will also contest the December elections, but the smaller
Kurdistan Islamic Union, who won 10 percent of the seats in the
Dahuk and
Sulaymaniyah governorate elections in January, has announced that it will form its own governmental lists.
Iraqi National List (#731) The
Iraqi List was established by
Iyad Allawi, who served as interim Prime Minister before the January 2005 election. It is dominated by his
Iraqi National Accord party. For the December 2005 election, it has joined forces with
former interim President Ghazi al-Yawar's
The Iraqis list, the
People's Union list (which is dominated by the
Iraqi Communist Party), and the
Sunni Arab politician
Adnan Pachachi and his
Assembly of Independent Democrats to form a single list called the Iraqi National List. This list will attempt to present a secular and trans-community alternative to the other major lists, which are more based on the support of a single ethnic or religious groups.
Iraqi Accord Front (#618) The
Iraqi Islamic Party originally registered for the January elections but then decided to boycott the polls, which meant that it did not gain any seats. It has decided to participate in the December elections, forming a list called the
Iraqi Accord Front with two other smaller parties, the Iraqi Peoples' Gathering and the Iraqi National Dialogue. These parties aim to tap the
Sunni Arab vote; Sunni Arabs overwhelmingly boycotted the January election, but increased Sunni participation in the
constitutional referendum may indicate an increased Sunni turnout for the December elections, especially because more than 1,000 Sunni clerics called on their followers to vote, according to
The New York Times . However, the
Association of Muslim Scholars, which is influential in the Sunni community, has called for a boycott of the December elections, which could have an adverse impact on the Iraqi Accord Front's success.
Other lists •
National Peace List (#635) Led by Laith Kubba, the spokesman of the current Iraqi PM, Ibrahim Al-Jaafari •
Arabic List (#615) • Independent Karbala Coalition (#533) - A Shi'ite group based in
Karbala •
Brotherhood and Peace List (#737) •
National Congress Coalition (#569) - Made up of the Chalabi's
Iraqi National Congress and some smaller groups including the monarchist
Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy. Justice Minister
Abdel Hussein Shandal has also joined this block. The list is mostly Shi'ite, but with some Sunnis. •
Al-Risaliyun (#631), "
The Upholders of the Message" (or "Message Party" or "Progressives" in the IECI translation). This is a list of Sadrists that do not support the UIA and was backed by one of al-Sadr's collaborators, sheikh
Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji. •
Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress (#668).
Yazidi minority party. • Islamic Coalition (#549) •
Justice and Future Coalition (#517) •
Al Nahrain National List (#752) - An Assyrian list •
Al Wafaa For Basrah Gathering (#512) •
Iraqi National Dialogue Front (#667) - A mainly Sunni coalition, unlike the accord it is avowedly secular and opposed to the new constitution. It is led by
Saleh al-Mutlak, who was a leader of Sunni opposition to the new constitution. •
Furation-Human Rights (#647) •
Mithal Al Aloosi List For Iraqi Nation (#620) •
Watanion Gathering (#814) •
Iraq Sun (#652) •
Al Khalas National Front (#798) •
Iraq Turkmen Front (#630) •
Unified National List (#829) •
Iraqi Free Progressive Party (#568). Its leader, Iraqi
Sunni politician
Mizhar Dulaimi was shot dead while campaigning in
Ramadi on December 13. The previous night, he had appeared on television urging Sunnis to take part in the elections. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4523972.stm •
Assembly of Independent Iraqis (#565) . A secular resistance-supporter list led by former electricity minister Dr.
Ayham al-Samarie. ==Results==