The fall of Saddam Hussein saw the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) re-emerge after being banned for 35 years. Founded in 1934, it played a key role in the coup which ousted the British-backed monarchy in 1958. Many Iraqis are familiar with it because of its long history.

The ICP's newspaper was one of the first to be published in Baghdad after the former regime fell.

This was partly because the party already had a presence in Iraq – it operated underground and from the Kurdish enclave in the north of Iraq during the rule of Saddam Hussein.

The party has also organised two demonstrations - one on 1 May 2003 to mark International Workers' Day and another on 14 July to commemorate the fall of the monarchy.

ICP official Hamid Majid Musa al-Bayati has joined the US-appointed Governing Council, despite the party's opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq and its strong criticism of the council's limited powers.