Alliance Towards Reforms

Alliance Towards Reforms
تحالف سائرون للإصلاح
LeaderHassan al-Aquli[1][2][3] (Political leader)
Muqtada al-Sadr (Spiritual leader)
Founded25 January 2018[4]
Dissolved24 July 2021[5]
IdeologyIraqi nationalism[6]
Anti-corruption[6]
Factions:
Social democracy[7]
Syncretic politics[8]
Shi'a political thought[9]
Communism
Political positionBig tent[10]
Colors  Dark cyan
  Turquoise

The Alliance Towards Reforms or Marching Towards Reform (Arabic: تحالف سائرون للإصلاح), also known by its Arabic short form Saairun (Arabic: سائرون, Saairun, lit. 'Forward'[11]), was an Iraqi electoral coalition formed to gain political control in the 2018 general election. The main components were the Shi’a Islamist Sadrist Integrity Party, the leftist Iraqi Communist Party,[12] the Youth Movement for Change Party, the Party of Progress and Reform and the Iraqi Republican Group and the State of Justice Party.[13][14] The alliance won 54 seats, more than any other coalition in the election.

In the previous election, the Sadrists (a Shia movement emerging in the 1990s to oppose President Saddam Hussein) had run as the Al-Ahrar Bloc and won 34 seats.[15] They initially supported the al Abadi government, with Baha al-Araji serving as one of the Deputy Prime Ministers.[16] However, they later withdrew this stance, organizing protests against government corruption and sectarianism. On 30 April 2016, supporters of the Alliance Towards Reforms occupied the Council of Representatives in protest.[17]

The coalition effectively ended when the Iraqi Communist Party decided to boycott the 2021 general election.[5]

  1. ^ shooq. "كلمة د.حسن العاقولي رئيس تحالف "سائرون"". www.iraqicp.com.
  2. ^ ""سائرون": يصعب التوصل لتقاربات سياسية مع التحالفات الأخرى لخوض الانتخابات". 21 January 2018.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "لقاء خاص مع رئيس تحالف سائرون د. حسن العاقولي". www.alrasheedmedia.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ^ shooq. "إعلان تحالف "سائرون" لخوض الانتخابات البرلمانية والمحلية". www.iraqicp.com.
  5. ^ a b "Statement of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party: No Participation in Elections that is not Gateway to Desired Change" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b Cambanis, Thanassis (11 May 2018). "Opinion - Can a Shiite Cleric Pull Iraq Out of the Sectarian Trap?". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Sadr willing to ally with Iraqi blocs to form technocratic government". english.alarabiya.net. 15 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Interview with the Iraqi Communist Party". 18 July 2003.
  9. ^ "The Sadrist–Communist Alliance: Implications for Iraq's Secular Politics". 6 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Sadr calls for technocratic government in pun-heavy tweet".
  11. ^ "Who Is Moqtada al-Sadr? The Cleric Who Attacked U.S. Troops and Is Iraq's Likely Next PM". Reuters. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr bloc wins Iraq elections". BBC News. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Meet Iraq's plentiful parliamentary alliances". Shafaq News. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  14. ^ "The Sadrist–Communist Alliance: Implications for Iraq's Secular Politics". Middle East Centre. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  15. ^ See 2014 Iraqi parliamentary election for further details.
  16. ^ "EIFA - A look at the new Iraqi Cabinet". 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Shia protesters storm Iraq parliament". BBC News. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.