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.

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

[5] During a visit to Iran three months before the election, senior Iranian politician Ali Akbar Velayati declared: "We will not allow liberals and communists to govern Iraq," in reference to the Alliance.

Khateeb, who is a teacher and an anti-poverty and women's rights activist, said upon her victory: "We, the Communist party, have a long history of honesty - we were not agents for foreign occupations.