A group of independents and representatives from the October Movement plan to form an independent parliamentary bloc to oppose powerful forces and parties in the political arena.

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission announced on Oct. 17 the final results of Iraq's elections. Independent candidates and representatives of the October Movement won 40 seats. The Sadrist movement, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, placed first with 73 parliamentary seats out of 329, followed by the Taqaddom alliance with 37 seats and the State of Law Coalition with 34 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party, the ruling party in Kurdistan, won 32 seats. The Fatah Alliance, which represents the political wing of the Popular Mobilization Units, won 17 seats, and the Kurdistan Alliance, which includes the National Union and other Kurdish forces, won 16 seats.

Iraq's parliamentary system has not known real opposition since its establishment in 2003. Rather, all political forces, the supporters of the government and the opposition both participate in the government and share the pie.

While preparations are underway to establish a new civil alliance in parliament that includes representatives from the Emtidad Movement, which represents the popular protests, winning candidate in the parliamentary elections in Nejev Hadi Hassan al-Salami told Al-Monitor, “The Oct. 18 meeting between independent candidates and representatives of the October demonstrations has resulted in a rift between candidates who will join the opposition and others who prefer independence from the opposition and the government.”