Iraqi Communists defy odds, heavily campaign for Jan. 30 elections

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two of its most prominent members were gunned down recently, but that didn’t stop the Iraq’s Communist Party from holding a campaign rally in downtown Baghdad, with supporters waving red flags and shouting leftist slogans.

Few other parties have dared to do the same, but then Iraq’s Communists are a stubborn bunch. And although they are not expected to win many seats in the country’s Jan. 30 elections, their insistence on a strong voice in Iraqi politics could still pay off.

The party’s main tenet is the separation of state and religion, which makes them unique in Iraq’s political landscape. They could play an important role by striking a balance between the Shiite parties expected to dominate and their Sunni rivals in the new national assembly, which will help put together a new constitution.

“It is hard to think that we could be a majority,” said Shakir al-Dujaily, a senior party member. “What we are after is being part of this interim body and relaying our ideas that shouldn’t be absent from drafting the constitution.”

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