Hadi al-Amiri, the head of Fatih Alliance withdrew from the race, while former Oil Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and former head of the Hashd al-Shaabi committee Falih Alfayyadh are potential Shiite-party nominees for prime minister.
"I think it is a sacrifice when Hadi al-Amiri, who was to a large extent the only candidate for al-Bina bloc, is withdrawing and rejecting to become a nominee for prime minister, just in order to protect the situation in the state," said Ahmed al-Jarba, an MP from the al-Bina bloc, on Thursday.
Burhanadin al-Ishaq, an MP from Fatih which encompasses al-Bina, also spoke highly of Abdul-Mahdi.
"Dr. Adil Abdul-Mahdi is one of the prominent Iraqi politicians. He had worked in the previous governments and in many prominent blocs... He is an admired person,” Ishaq said.
He added they would not stand against any other nominee, indicating al-Bina is open to other candidates.
Naif al-Shamary from former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s Wataniya said the next prime minister should have a "strong" personality and be a "good decision maker" in order to save Iraq from all the crises engulfing it.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest in the Kurdistan Region, seems to agree for Abdul-Mahdi to run for premier considering him to be an experienced political for the current situation in Iraq.
"He is a good man," said Fazil Mirani, head of the KDP politburo, said. "He is an economist and a graduate from Sorbonne in France. He was previously a vice president, deputy prime minister of Iraq and oil minister, so he is skilled in administrative affairs too."
The KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the second-largest from the Kurdistan Region, have a partnership for government formation in Baghdad, where the next prime minister will wield tremendous power, backed by a Shiite party dominated parliament.
Mirani commended Abdul-Mahdi as a "good politician and a moderate person."
"We respect him a lot," added Mirani.
Lack of services, a reform plan, and adherence to the constitution by the outgoing government in Baghdad has sewn distrust in Baghdad by some Iraqis — as evidenced by protests in Basra and the capital, the federal takeover of disputed Kirkuk, and budget-share disagreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government, and some provinces over federal funding.
Kazim Hassan, who lives in Baghdad, says they lost trust in the politicians and the country needs someone to rescue it.
"We need the next premier to be someone to rescue the country from the crises which have plagued us," he said, lamenting that "the nation is tired."
Another Iraqi from Baghdad preferred to remain anonymous when speaking about the hot button topic: "There is no one to support to become the prime minister. I do not see anyone deserving for the post and this is a fact.”
Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi promised to increase salaries for Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias on Thursday. Abadi dismissed Alfayyadh as Hashd head for partisanship in late August. The latter is affiliated with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Coalition.
Abadi appears to be making a last ditch effort to rally support, despite him announcing last week that he would not cling to power following a decree by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that Iraqis shouldn’t support politicians who have recently been in power.
