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For the first time, it appears that a political party in Iraq is coming together along ideological rather than sectarian lines. If the trend continues, it could mark a sharp break in the country's political evolution, which until now has been dominated by sectarian rivalries.

The composition of the Iraqi National Alliance, which aims at taking on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's dominant Dawa Party in the parliamentary elections set for January, is dominated by conservative Shia parties and leaders, but also includes secularists, Sunnis and other religious and ethnic minorities.

"Since security has stabilized, we have determined that the needs of citizens have changed," said Muna Zalzala, a conservative Shia member of parliament who is now a member of the new party. "People do not focus on sect or religion, but instead on services and prosperity and (the party) that will provide that. The coalitions have changed as a result. Our new alliance is based on national rather than sectarian interests." The Iraqi National Alliance's shift toward pluralism is part of a larger trend away from the sectarian politics that have plagued Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The new party seems intent on competing with the nationalist-driven coalition led by Maliki's Shia Dawa party, which pledges to focus its campaign on secular issues such as security and services.

That's the agenda that won over voters in the February 2009 provincial council elections, when Dawa and its allies gained power in many provinces that had previously been governed by religious parties. Corruption, lack of services and security proved important issues for voters.

The February vote is considered a crucial turning point in Iraq's politics, which until then had been dominated by leaders pushing sectarian and ethnic agendas.

Abdullah Jafar, a retired political science professor, noted that secular parties had run religious campaigns to attract voters in the 2005 parliamentary poll. The strategies in this election will be the opposite, he said.

"Even sectarian and religious parties will try to ally with secular parties or lists," he said. "The Islamic game in Iraq is over." Dawa is also hoping that its issues-driven agenda will pull in voters. The party intends to stump for parliamentary seats with a diverse coalition to attract a wide range of voters.

Abdul Hadi al-Hasani, a Dawa official, said the party "aims to create a nationalistic, non-sectarian coalition that includes all sects, ethnicities, minorities and tribes." "There is no doubt that Shias are the majority of the population in Iraq," he said. "But the point is that we will be nationalistic, not sectarian. We don't aim to only attract Shia voters." Even Tawafiq, a leading Sunni Arab bloc, also seeks to join multi- ethnic and multi-sectarian alliances, said Shatha al-Obosi, a party spokeswoman. She said Sunni Arab parties would likely accept other sects or ethnicities holding power if they were inclusive.

"We expected sectarianism would end one day, and it seems like that day has come," she said.

"The recent change is a message to the Iraqi citizen: 'You are the one who decides, not the politician."' Not everyone is convinced that long-held political alliances are about to change overnight. Many Kurd and Sunni politicians remain suspicious that Shia politicians will once again come together to maintain a stranglehold on power.

But if Iraq is ever to advance, sectarian political will have to give way, much as they did centuries again in the West, many here believe.

"Staying in the cycle of sectarianism means continued strife among politicians and violence among Iraqi sects," said Abdullah Jafar, a retired political science professor. "This could stoke a civil war any time.

"We are a multi-sectarian and multi-ethnic country, so we need peaceful, non-sectarian politics," he said. "This is how we can create a peaceful life in Iraq."

• Abeer Mohammed is a reporter in Iraq.