Assyrian politics in Iraq have been taking many different turns since the US

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

of the country in 2003. Today, there are many different Assyrian political parties in Iraq. The main Assyrian party that came out from the 2005 elections was the

Assyrian Democratic Movement The Assyrian Democratic Movement (, , ADM), popularly known as Zowaa (), is an Assyrian political party situated in Iraq, and one of the main Assyrian parties within the Iraqi parliament. The Assyrian Democratic Movement states its aims are to e ...

. However, Sarkis Aghajan began to challenge its power beginning in 2006 with the opening of

Ishtar TV Ishtar TV () is an Assyrian people, Assyrian broadcasting channel which has its headquarters in Ankawa, Iraq. It was established by Sarkis Aghajan and was led by George Mansour, who was Ishtar TV's first General Manager, in 2005. The network broad ...

and the

KDP KDP may refer to: Businesses *Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-publisher that bans without reason *Keurig Dr Pepper, a beverage conglomerate Political parties * Karpatendeutsche Partei (KdP; Carpathian Germany Party), Czechoslovakia * Katipunan ...

-affiliated Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council. As of 2025, owing to continuous violence and political marginalization, Assyrians no longer have proper political representation in Iraq. Many of the seats that are reserved for the community have since been hijacked by the

Babylon Movement The Babylon Movement (, ) is a political party situated in Iraq. Founded in 2014, it is the political wing of the Babylon Brigades, a militia that was formed as part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces. Rayan al-Kildani currently leads the pa ...

under the leadership of

Rayan al-Kildani Rayan Salem Sadiq Al-Kildani (), better known as Rayan al-Kildani (, ), is an Iraqi Assyrian politician who serves as the general secretary of the Babylon Movement, as well as its military component, the Babylon Brigade. He rose to power after ...

1992 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

On May 19, 1992, elections were held for the

Kurdistan National Assembly The Kurdistan Regional Parliament, also known as Kurdistan Parliament – Iraq (; ), or simply Perleman, is the parliament of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. It is made up of representatives from the various parties, lists or slates that are elec ...

(KNA,) the parliament of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. At the time, the National Assembly had 105 seats. The parties representing the Assyrian community competed in a

closed list Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively vote for only political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some in ...

guaranteeing that there would be five Assyrian seats in the KNA. There were four Assyrian lists in the elections: *

*Kurdistan Christian Unity of Sarkis Aghajan *Democratic Christians *Chaldo-Ashur Communist Party Results A minimum of 2,400 votes was required to win a seat. ADM won four seats and one was won by the Kurdistan Christian Unity. The names of those elected into the parliament: * Yonadam Kanna (ADM) *Shamil Benyamin (ADM) *Francis Yousif Shaba † (ADM) *Akram Ashur Odisho (ADM) * Sarkis Aghajan (KCU) Francis Youif was assassinated on June 1, 1993, in

Dohuk Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is the Capital (political), capital city of Duhok Governorate. Name The city of Duhok received its name from the Kurdish languages, Kurdish words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a ...

. Experts regarded that several parties that participated in the election, namely Aghajan's KCU, were proxies for bigger Kurdish parties, with each party being controlled by a different organization.

Iraqi parliamentary election, January 2005

:''

Iraqi parliamentary election, January 2005 Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005 to elect the new National Assembly of Iraq, National Assembly, alongside 2005 Iraqi governorate elections, governorate elections and a 2005 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election, p ...

'' A general election was held on 30 January 2005 to elect a temporary 275-member

Council of Representatives of Iraq The Council of Representatives is the ''de facto'' unicameral legislature of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad ...

. It was the first time in the history of Iraq (outside of KRG-areas) that Assyrian political parties had been allowed to be part of the electoral system. In the elections, there were three different Assyrian lists; *

National Rafidain List The Rafidain List or Al Rafidain National List (or Mesopotamia List) is the name of the list that is used by Assyrian Democratic Movement during the Iraqi elections, headed by Yunadam Kanna. At the 2005 parliamentary elections, the NRL got with ...

(204) - Yonadam Kanna ::

*Assyrian National Assembly (139) ::Assyrian National Congress ::

Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party The Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as BNDP, is an Assyrian political party based in Iraq. For much of its lifespan and involvement in politics, the party has been led by Romeo Hakkari. One of the party's goals was to creat ...

of Sargon Dadesho *Bet-Nahrain Democratic Coalition (148) :: Beth Nahren Patriotic Union :: Syriac Independent Gathering Movement Chaldean National Congress was initially part of list 204, but ended up dropping off before the election. Chaldean Democratic Union Party (CDUP),

Assyrian Patriotic Party The Assyrian Patriotic Party (, commonly known as Atranaya) is a political party in Iraq representing Assyrians that has been led by Emanuel Khoshaba Youkhana, since the 4th APP conference in Duhok in 2011. In 2018 they allied with the Assyrian D ...

(APP) and Bet Nahrain Democratic Party (BNDP) of Romeo Hakkari joined the Kurdistani list (130). Before the elections, Minas Ibrahim of the Democratic Christian Party was kidnapped in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, but was released a month later without ransom. In all, six Assyrians were elected to the parliament. National Rafidain list got the minimum required votes for a seat in the parliament and it was given to Yonadam Kanna (ADM.) Other Assyrians that were elected into the parliament include Goriel Mineso Khamis (BNDP), Nuri Potrus 'Atto,

Ablahad Afraim Sawa Ablahad Afraim Sawa () is an Assyrians in Iraq, Iraqi Assyrian politician and former member of the National Assembly of Iraq. He was elected as part of the Democratic Alliance of Kurdistan, which had helped his political party, the Chaldean Democ ...

(CDUP) and Jacklin Qosin Zomaya (APP) all under the Kurdistani list (130.)

Wijdan Michael Wijdan Michael Salem (; born 1963) is a former Minister of Human Rights in Iraq and currently advisor for development and service for the Prime Minister's Office. She made history by being a woman involved in the crafting of the 2005 Constituti ...

was elected under

Iyad Allawi Ayad Allawi (; also spelled Iyad or Eyad; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi-British politician and neurologist. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 ...

's secular list.

Iraq Governorate elections, 2005

On the same day, Iraq held a local governorate elections in all 18 governorates. Assyrian political parties participitated in 4 of the 18 local governorate elections. The only Assyrian party that won a seat in any governorate was the Assyrian Democratic Movement in the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

. The party received 4,650 votes and captured one seat (out of 41.) In addition, Salvana Boya of the

was elected in the

Kirkuk Governorate Kirkuk Governorate (; ; ) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an area of . In 2017, the estimated population was 1,259,561 people. The provincial capital is the city of Kirkuk. It is divided into four Distri ...

council under the Kurdistani list.

2005 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

Elections for the

, the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

of Iraq, were held on 30 January 2005, to coincide with the Iraqi legislative election and governoral council elections. All Assyrian-based parties joined the

Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan (DPAK) sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were ...

. The coalition won 104 of the 111 seats in the parliament, of which 5 were won by Assyrians: :''(in order as they were in the coalition list)'' *Jamal Shamon Yalya (CCS) - 69 *Romeo Hakkari (BNDP) - 71 *Bayzar Milko Rohan (CDUP) - 72 *Andreaus Youkhana Georgis (ADM) - 73 *Galawesh Shaba Hojji (ADM) - 76

Iraqi parliamentary election, 2005 (December)

A general election was held on 15 December 2005 to elect a permanent 275-member Iraqi Council of Representatives. The elections took place under a list system, whereby voters chose from a list of parties. In the elections, there were three main Assyrian list: *

(740) - had only one party, the

. *Patriotic Beth Nahrain (Al-Nahrain National) (752) :: Beth Nahren Patriotic Union :: Chaldean National Congress ::

:: Syriac Independent Gathering Movement ::Chaldean Democratic Forum ::Hikmat Hakim (Independent) * Assyrian General Conference (800) The Chaldean Democratic Forum, a party led by Saeed Shama that also advocated for a separate Chaldean identity, took part in elections for the first time. Other Assyrian parties decided to side with non-Assyrian based list. The Chaldean Democratic Union Party decided to run under the Kurdish list (730.) The Iraqi Christian Democratic Party of Minas al-Yousifi joined the list of the

Iraqi National Dialogue Front The Iraqi Front for National Dialogue (Arabic: الجبهة العراقية للحوار الوطني ''al-Jabha al-Iraqia li al-Hiwar al-Watani'') also known as Hiwar is an Iraqi Sunni Arab-led Iraqi political party. Originally formed to con ...

(667.) Bet Nahrain Democratic Party of Romeo Hakkari withdrew. In all, three Assyrians were voted into the parliament. ADM succeeded in capturing one parliament seat in the Baghdad governorate, which was given to the secretary of its party, Yonadam Kanna. Fawzi Hariri (KDP) and

(CDUP) under the Kurdistani list (730) for the Arbil governorate were voted in as well.

Iraqi Governorate elections 2009

A local governorate election was held on January 31, 2009, in Iraq. There were no elections in the heavily-Assyrian populated north governorate of

and Arbil (including

Slemani Sulaymaniyah or Slemani (; ), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Barana ...

and

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

.) 440 seats in 14 (of the 18) Iraqi governorates were up for grabs. In the last local governorate elections, only one seat (in Nineveh) was won by Assyrians (ADM.) Unlike the 2005 local elections, minority groups had reserved seats ahead of the election. Three seats were reserved for Assyrians; one each in the governorates of Nineveh, Baghdad and Basra. In the election, there were three main Assyrian blocks fighting for votes. The

being one, under the list titled

(504). The other being a

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...

-backed block titled the Ishtar Patriotic List (513). The Ishtar Patriotic List included the following: * Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council * Bet Nahrain Democratic Party * Chaldean Democratic Forum *Chaldean Cultural Society * Beth Nahren Patriotic Union * Syriac Independent Gathering Movement The third major list was the Chaldean Democratic Union Party (503).
The Nineveh seat was won by Saad Tanios Jaji of SIGM. The Baghdad seat was won by Gewargis Isho Sada of the BNDP. The Ishtar Patriotic List decided not to run in the Basra elections, however, it supported the Chaldean National Congress (CNC.) The Basra seat was won by Saad Matti Boutros of the CDUP.

2009 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

The

held elections to elect its 111-member

on 25 July 2009. Five seats were reserved for Assyrians. There were 8 Assyrian parties that initially signed up to participate in the elections. Prior to the elections, the BNDP decided to withdraw. APP and KACP decided to run on a joint list. CDUP and CNC also merged in a joint list called the "United Chaldean List". Most Assyrians living in Ankawa were largely reluctant to discuss politics before the election and were unconfident in politicians' ability to attain their rights. The lists that ran as part of the elections also expressed differing political motives; while the CSAPC list ran for the recognition of the three names as one people, the Unified Chaldean List wanted to be considered a separate group and threatened to file suits in the

Federal Supreme Court of Iraq The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq (FSC) is the highest court of Iraq within the remit of constitutional law, having exclusive jurisdiction to interpret the Constitution of Iraq. In addition to determining the constitutionality of laws and regulat ...

. *Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council List (68) :: Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council *

(67) ::

*Self government List (65) ::

:: Chaldo-Ashur Communist Party *United Chaldean List (64) :: Chaldean Democratic Union Party :: Chaldean Democratic Forum The politicians that were elected to parliament are as follows: * Thair Abdalahad Ogostin (CSAPC) * Susan Yousif Khoshaba (CSAPC) * Amir Goga Yousif (CSAPC) * Salem Toma Kako (ADM) * Jihan Ismael Benyamin (ADM)

Iraqi parliamentary election, 2010

A parliamentary election was held on 7 March 2010. The parliament previously approved to increase the number of seats from 275 to 325, of which 5 seats were reserved for Assyrians. The reserved seats for Assyrian in Iraqi parliament was the first in the country's history. Going into the elections, four Christians were in the parliament: Yonadam Kanna (ADM), Fawzi Hariri (KDP,)

(CDUP,) and

(Allawi list.) The

, Chaldean Democratic Forum, and the Bet Nahrain Democratic Party announced on November 15, that they would create an alliance. Five major lists have been created for the election; * 389 -

* 390 - Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council list * 391 - Chaldean National Congress * 392 - Chaldean Democratic Union Party * 393 - Independent Sarkis Yousif * 394 - Ishtar Democratic List:

. Beth Nahrain, Chaldean Democratic Forum * 395 - Independent John (Yohanna) Joseph Three seats were won by the ADM and two seats by the CSAPC. The five elected into the parliament: * Yonadam Kanna * Basimah Yusuf Butrus * Imad Youkhana Yaqo * Khales Isho Esitefo * Luis Caro Bandar

Iraqi Governorate elections, 2013

A Governorate (or local) elections were held in Iraq on 20 April 2013, with Nineveh Governorate along with Anbar voting on June 20, due to violence in the city caused by the

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ') was a Salafi jihadist militant organization that fought the forces of the U.S.-led coalition during the Iraqi insurgency. The organization aimed to overthrow the Iraqi federal government and establish an ...

. Elections didn't take place in the 3 governorates forming the Kurdistan Region. As with the previous local elections, 3 seats were reserved for Assyrians, including one each in Baghdad, Nineveh and Basra. The Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council reclaimed their seats in Nineveh and Baghdad, by receiving 8,635 and 1,513 votes respectively.

2013 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election

held elections to elect its 111-member

on 21 September 2013. Each Kurdish party listed 100 candidates while each Assyrian and Turkman party listed 5 candidates. There were 3 Assyrian lists running for the five reserved seats. Prior to the election, some ADM members decided to leave the party and run on their own list called Sons of Mesopotamia. *125 Sons of Mesopotamia List ** List included former individuals from the Assyrian Democratic Movement *126

*127 Chaldean Syriac Assyrian United List **

** Chaldean National Council ** Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council

Results

The elections resulted in the Popular Council losing one seat, while ADM retaining two seats and the new Mesopotamia List being given one seat. Yaqoub Gorgis and Lina Azriya Bahram of the ADM were elected along with

Srood Maqdasy Srood Salem Matti Maqdasy is an Assyrian physician, politician, and former member of the Kurdistan Region Parliament in Iraq. Maqdasy stood out as one of just eleven representatives elected to represent minority groups in Iraqi Kurdistan's 111-m ...

from the Mesopotamia List. Within the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian United List, the Popular Council managed retain its 2 seats. Chaldean Syriac Assyrian United List individual votes: Other Assyrians ran in Kurdish parties, but non were able to get enough votes to win a seat in the parliament. Many voters in Assyrian dominated Areas voted for these parties, including 3,377 votes for the

in Ankawa alone.

Iraqi parliamentary elections 2014

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 30 April 2014, electing the 328 members of the Council of Representatives, of which 5 were reserved for the Assyrian minority. 2 of the seats were won by the

, 2 by the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council, and one by the

Iraqi Communist Party The Iraqi Communist Party ( '; ) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a prominent role in shaping the political history of Iraq between it ...

who was under the Civil Democratic Alliance. Azad was replaced Joseph Sylawa. ADM tried but failed to make Sargon Lazar a minister, after Sargon resigned his seat and gave it to Imad Youkhana Yaqo.

Iraqi parliamentary elections, 2018

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 12 May 2018, electing 329 members of the Council of Representatives. A total of 7 different Assyrian lists competed for the 5 reserved seats. Babylon Movement, a mostly non-Assyrian militia linked to the Iranian-backed paramilitary group, entered the parliament for the first time after receiving more than 33,000 votes, leading to winning 2 seats. CSAPC, Rafidain list and the Chaldean Catholic-supported Chaldean list all received one seat. Many within the Assyrian community publicly condemned Babylon Movement and its leader

for taking reserved seats for the Assyrian communities through votes coming mostly from southern Shia Arab individuals. The results to some even calling for the then US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to pressure Iraqi authorities to invalidate the results, however no actions were taken.

Iraqi parliamentary elections, 2021

Patriarch

Louis Raphaël I Sako Louis Raphaël I Sako (; born 4 July 1948) is a Chaldean Catholic prelate who has served as Patriarch of Baghdad since 1 February 2013. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018. Biography Early life Sako was born in the city of Z ...

and other Christian politicians accused the

(which won 4 out of 5 seats in the

2021 Iraqi parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 10 October 2021. The elections determined the 329 members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq, Council of Representatives who in turn elected the Iraqi President of Iraq, president and confirme ...

) of having a Shia Muslim voter base. Similarly, the independent Christian candidate Farouq Hanna Atto is said to owe his victory to the

Iraqi governorate elections, 2023

The

2023 Iraqi governorate elections Governorate or provincial elections were scheduled to be held in Iraq on 20 April 2020, to replace the provincial councils in the governorates of Iraq that were elected in the 2013 Iraqi governorate elections and, in Kurdistan Region, in the 20 ...

were held on December 18, 2023, after almost 10 years passing after the last one. The delay was mostly due to the 2014

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

invasion and occupation. Governorates under the KRG did not participate. For the

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

, reserved seats were allocated in the following governorates: Basra, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Ninewa.
/ref>

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Assyrian political parties Assyrians in Iraq Politics of Iraq