Iraq’s new MPs must unite to achieve genuine change

A new generation of independent MPs and parties emerging from the protests in Iraq can reform the country’s politics, but only if they work together.

Expert comment Published 10 February 2022 3 minute READ

Hayder Al-Shakeri

Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme

Iraq’s newly-elected MPs recently gathered for the first time, three months after an election in which an alternative new generation of independents and protest parties won dozens of seats in parliament. This new cohort have the potential to gradually reform the political system, but must work towards forging a unified strategy if they are to effect change.

Early statements from some of these ‘alternative MPs’, who combined represent more than 70 seats, indicated a desire to form a unified coalition, but such an alliance has been difficult to forge.

Even before the October 2021 elections, divisions in tactics emerged amongst disillusioned Iraqis who had taken part in popular protests in 2019-20.

These new MPs do seem to agree on core issues such as the predominance of corruption and the need for systemic reform, but disagree on how best to achieve it

Some called for a boycott of the vote due to state-sanctioned violence against activists and claims of an unfair playing field that favoured established political parties. Others felt the election represented an exciting opportunity to vote for new candidates who would promote reform from within, while some still felt that voting was the ‘least bad’ option.

Challenges for unity remain

This divide has unfortunately proven an early indicator of the lack of cohesion among the new parliamentarians. Since the elections, at least three separate alternative blocs have formed amongst the new cohort, while three members of Imtidad – one of the parties which emerged from the protest movement – have withdrawn due to political differences.

Many MPs who already had links to traditional political parties ran as independents with the aim of increasing their votes, correctly interpreting Iraq’s new electoral law which favoured independent candidates, but other genuine independents have been lured into joining establishment political parties since the election.

Around 30 of the 70 alternative MPs appear to have maintained their independence and continue to advocate for an alternative to the traditional post-2003 political system.

The most prominent blocs among this group are the For the People Alliance, which consists of 18 MPs from the Imtidad Movement and the New Generation party, and the Independent Popular Bloc, consisting of five MPs who ran as independents.

The Ishraqat Kanoon party won six seats and has now formed a bloc of ten MPs with a few additional candidates, while just a handful of new MPs remain entirely independent, hesitant to join any alliance or party.

Overall, these new MPs do seem to agree on core issues such as the predominance of corruption and the need for systemic reform, but disagree on how best to achieve it – whether from inside or outside the system. They also disagree about who the main perpetrators of corruption and government mismanagement are – and therefore who to target.

To be an effective opposition within parliament, alternative MPs must first enhance cooperation among themselves to develop a strategy and present a united front on key issues

This mismatch was highlighted during the recent vote for the speaker of parliament, when some of the new cohort believed it was strategic to play the political game by voting alongside establishment political parties for Mohamed al-Halbousi, a prominent figure within the political system they oppose. Others disagreed and instead cast blank votes, to demonstrate their opposition to the entire Muhassasa system.

All of this indicates that, while these different blocs argue that they are open to forging ad-hoc partnerships on issues of mutual interest, it is increasingly unlikely they will be able to work as a single, united entity.

Pathways for change do exist

Because most of Iraq’s alternative MPs are new to the political system, their political skills and competencies remain a key concern, especially as established MPs and parties have a great deal of experience in fragmenting and violently repressing movements which seek to challenge the political status quo.

This raises doubts about the extent to which Iraq’s alternative MPs can work the system to their advantage to achieve change. For example, despite working together to nominate an Imtidad party MP for the position of first deputy speaker during the January parliamentary session, they were only able to win 34 votes compared to 182 given to his opponent.

There are indications the new MPs may work together to interrogate establishment politicians in ministerial posts in a parliamentary process which only requires a minimum of 25 votes. This may prove a powerful tool to exert pressure on corrupt politicians or those involved in attacks on protesters.

However, if cooperation between new political parties and blocs remains ad-hoc, the impact these new groups have will be limited. To be an effective opposition within parliament, alternative MPs must first enhance cooperation among themselves to develop a strategy and present a united front on key issues.

Once that is established, they must then forge relationships with reformists within the civil service and bureaucracy to empower and support them from the legislature – and they must maintain links with civil society groups and their supporters, to remain accountable to their constituents.

Pursuing consistent and stable alliances of this nature are pivotal to the ability of Iraq’s new MPs to achieve substantive and genuine reform of their country’s tired and corrupt political system.

This article is part of a series from Chatham House that provides in-depth insights into the inner-workings of Iraq’s government and evaluate what recent developments – both public and behind the scenes – reveal about prospects for a more a stable, accountable, and prosperous Iraqi state.

This series is part of the workstream on the political economy of reform, under the Middle East and North Africa programme’s Iraq Initiative led by project director Dr Renad Mansour.