Popular Unity Party, a
political party in
Iraq led by Youssif Hamdan. Initially set-up as
Communist Party of Iraq in
1995. CPI split away from the
Iraqi Communist Party during the latter period of the
Saddam Hussein regime. Many saw the setting up of CPI as a puppet party of the regime, whose existence would give the outside world an impression that the country was a multi-party state. CPI met with foreign delegations visiting
Iraq. It seems the intentions of CPI would be to join the government as a junior partner, similar to the coalition set-up in neighbouring
Syria, but the idea was later discarded. CPI was never given possibility to register as a legal party.
Following the fall of the Saddam regime, the party was reconstructed as the Popular Unity Party.