Iraqi militia candidates form one of the biggest political coalitions for elections
Iraq’s paramilitary militias announced the establishment of one of the biggest political blocs to run in the country’s upcoming general elections as the registration of electoral coalitions closed yesterday.
“The Al Fatih coalition comprises Al Badr Organisation, Asaib Ahl Al Haq, Harakat Hizbollah Al Nujaba and others,” said Hadi Al Ameri, the leader of Al Badr Organisation.
The militias are part of the Hashed Al Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Units or Popular Mobilisation Forces, which was formed in 2014 after Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, Iraq’s senior Shiite cleric, urged citizens to take up arms against ISIL extremists who had swept aside government forces and seized control of much of northern Iraq. Its component militias are mostly trained and supported by Iran. Some have been accused of abuses against civilians.
With ISIL defeated last year, the future role of militias has become one of the government’s main challenges, as many Iraqis are concerned over the participation of pro-Iranian movements in the elections.
Mr Al Ameri’s Badr Organisation was built “as a military force by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fight against Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein” in the Iran-Iraq War, according to Michael Knights, an Iraq analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
After Saddam was overthrown in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and his armed forces disbanded, “Badr placed its fighters in the new Iraqi security forces, exploiting the US-led coalition’s desperate need to rebuild the military”, Mr Knights wrote in a report last
year titled Tehran seeks to consolidate power in Iraq in 2018.
In November, the Iraqi prime minister, Haider Al Abadi, banned militia leaders from running in the elections, saying there should be a “clear separation between political and armed groups”. Many militia leaders subsequently formally resigned from positions in the armed groups.
Mr Al Abadi, who was a member of the State of Law coalition led by vice president Nouri Al Maliki, formed his own bloc called Al Nasr, or victory, to contest the election. “A number of candidates and coalitions have shown interest in joining the bloc, including volunteers who fought against ISIL,” said Haider Hamada, head of the prime minister’s media office.
Mr Al Abadi requested that candidates in his bloc must come from professional backgrounds, Mr Hamada said.
While Mr Al Maliki will lead the State of Law coalition, which includes his Islamic Dawa party, in the election, another vice president, Ayad Allawi, was in talks with parliamentary speaker Salem Al Jubouri and other Sunni figures about forming a coalition.
Three of the Kurdistan region’s parties aligned to form a political bloc called Nishtiman, meaning “homeland”.
The Kurdish Change movement, the Kurdistan Islamic Group and the Coalition for Democracy and Justice will field a joint list in Kirkuk and other disputed areas that the Kurds claim should be part of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Mr Al Abadi on Tuesday said the election would be held on May 12 as scheduled.
According to Iraqi law, citizens must vote in the province where they are registered to vote.