Neither the current Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, head of the “Reconstruction and Development” alliance, nor Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the “State of Law” coalition, succeeded in achieving a “majority” within the Shiite “coordination framework” to run for the presidency of the new government, amid information indicating that their ambition for power has ended, and that Shiite politicians are looking for a “compromise” candidate.
The “coordination framework” was scheduled to hold a meeting described by politicians as “crucial” on Saturday, but the failure to reach an understanding on a single candidate led to its postponement to Monday.
The Sudanese and Maliki teams exchanged blame regarding which of the two leaders requested the postponement of the meeting, as Mashreq Al-Fariji, a leader in the “Reconstruction and Development” coalition, confirmed that the “framework” meeting was postponed due to the difficulty of communicating with Maliki.
The "Coordination Framework" was scheduled to hold a meeting described by politicians as "crucial" on Saturday, but the failure to reach an understanding on a single candidate led to its postponement until Monday.
In a statement to a local station close to the “framework,” he said that “Maliki has not succeeded in convincing the partners within the national space,” indicating that “there are six fixed parties within the coordination framework that support Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to assume the premiership.”
He added that “the framework meeting scheduled for Saturday was postponed at al-Maliki’s request,” noting that “the prime ministership issue will be resolved before the 15-day period expires.” Meanwhile, Wael al-Rikabi, a member of the National Media Observatory, confirmed the postponement of the Coordination Framework meeting to Monday at the request of the Prime Minister, indicating that disagreements persist regarding the prime ministerial candidate. Al-Rikabi, who is close to the State of Law Coalition, stated that “al-Maliki remains the prime ministerial candidate as long as the framework has not withdrawn his nomination, and he is the only official candidate so far,” clarifying that “the framework has not yet made its final decision.”
He stated that “there is a consensus within the framework against renewing al-Sudani’s term,” noting that “his return to the race after withdrawing in favor of al-Maliki is surprising.” He explained that “no candidate has yet been able to secure eight votes within the coordinating framework,” indicating that “al-Maliki and al-Sudani are now out of the running, with the framework leaning towards putting forward a new candidate in the next phase.”
The “framework” comprises 12 political parties representing the winning forces in the elections, excluding the Sadr Movement or the National Shiite Movement, headed by Muqtada al-Sadr. The candidate tasked with forming the government needs a two-thirds majority within the “framework” and the approval of eight members to proceed with his mission, a requirement that has not yet been met by any of the candidates. As of the time of this report, the leaders of the “framework” have not officially withdrawn their previous nomination of Maliki, nor has Maliki announced his withdrawal from the race to return to power.
Political sources speak of conditions set by Maliki should he withdraw from the nomination, most notably that the position not be given to a "former or current" prime minister, a clear reference to Sudani and Haider al-Abadi, leader of the "Victory" coalition. The selection of the prime minister in Iraq is not entirely a domestic matter; every year it is subject to external influences, primarily from the United States and Iran, to varying degrees, in determining who the new prime minister will be.
In this election cycle, US President Donald Trump's tweet contributed to obstructing Maliki's third term, in addition to Iranian influence represented by the head of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Esmail Qaani, who is currently visiting Baghdad. The prominent Iraqi Shiite politician, Izzat al-Shabandar, believes that there is no solution to this crisis except by abandoning the "sectarian project" in Iraq.
In a blog post, he pointed out that “the framework’s failure so far to agree on a replacement for Mr. Al-Sudani indicates his lack of qualifications for this task, and leaving his decision to waver between Trump’s tweets and the instructions of the chargé d’affaires and those influential on his behalf, and between Qaani’s visits and the fatwas of his team and those Mujahideen on their behalf.”
He considered that “there is no way out of this chronic grip except by abandoning the miserable sectarian ethnic project, and going to the national project and the right of the national majority to rule and the others to be in opposition.”
Internally, although the “Coordination Framework” has the right to manage the reins of government in the country, being the largest parliamentary bloc, in addition to conforming to the prevailing political custom after 2003 (the premiership for the Shiites, the presidency of the republic for the Kurds, and the presidency of parliament for the Sunnis), the Sunni and Kurdish political forces and figures do not want to enter into a direct confrontation with the American administration when they are forced to vote for a candidate from the “Framework” who does not have a green light from Washington.
Amidst this, the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Humam Hamoudi, affirms that the "coordination framework" is very close to finalizing the selection of the next prime minister. During the annual meeting of the Supreme Council's general assembly, he stated that "the coordination framework is nearing the completion of the prime minister selection process, either by majority vote or consensus, within the constitutional timeframe," adding that "the forces within the framework enjoy the freedom to make crucial decisions and place the national interest at the forefront of their priorities."
He pointed to “the level of positive interaction that the Abshir Ya Iraq Alliance (its bloc in the House of Representatives) received during the parliamentary elections, despite the influence of political money, which constituted the most prominent obstacle to achieving greater electoral results,” noting “the rise in the political acceptance of the Supreme Council through partnerships within the House of Representatives, which strengthened its influence on legislative decisions.”
In addition to al-Sudani, al-Maliki, and al-Abadi, the “Coordination Framework” is considering a list of six other candidates to form the new government, headed by Basim al-Badri, the head of the Accountability and Justice Commission.
In addition to al-Sudani, al-Maliki, and al-Abadi, the “Coordination Framework” is considering a list of six other candidates to form the new government, headed by Basim al-Badri, the head of the Accountability and Justice Commission, and a leader in the “Islamic Dawa Party – Iraq Organization,” who is close to al-Maliki.
In statements attributed to the leader of the “Framework” and head of the “Design” coalition, MP Amer Al-Fayez, “the Framework meeting that was scheduled to be held on Saturday evening has been postponed to Monday evening, at eight o’clock, at Ammar Al-Hakim’s house,” noting that “Monday’s meeting will be decisive, and may witness the official announcement of the name of the candidate for the premiership if the blocs succeed in reaching a final agreement.”
He explained that “the competition is now between six figures, namely: Basim Al-Badri, Ali Al-Shukri, Muhammad Al-Daraji, Abdul-Hussein Abtan, Qasim Al-Araji, and Hamid Al-Shatri,” indicating that “what is being circulated about the nomination being decided in advance in favor of Basim Al-Badri is inaccurate, and that negotiations are still ongoing with all six names without a final preference for any candidate.”
He added that “talking about the possibility of predicting the name of the next prime minister is not possible at this moment, due to the continuation of meetings and the expansion of discussions during the past hours,” noting that “the priority within the framework at present is choosing the prime minister, and after that, the process will move to the details of the ministerial formation, which will not take long after the name of the president is decided.”
He indicated that “the formation of the new government will not take long,” as he put it, because there are “initial understandings about its general form, but the problem of choosing the president still requires more time to reach a candidate who enjoys the consensus of the framework forces.”
